Diagnostic Team
An allied health professional who conducts language and pragmatic communication assessments during an evaluation.
Who is a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP)?
Assessment component that maps out a child's grammar, vocabulary, and sentence production.
What is a Language Assessment?
Brief parent-report screening tool widely used at 18- and 24-month checkups to examine autism likelihood.
What is M-CHAT?
Condition characterized by prominent hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention that frequently overlaps with ASD.
What is ADHD?
Demographic group that frequently flies under the radar due to "camouflaging" or masking their social traits.
Who are Girls/Women?
The primary source for a child's early developmental milestones and home behaviors during an intake.
Who are Parents/Caregivers?
The timeline of milestones collected from caregivers at the start of an evaluation.
What is Developmental History?
Gold-standard, play-and-interaction based direct observation tool with strict scoring.
What is ADOS-2?
Diagnosis given when severe social communication deficits are presented but restricted, repetitive behaviors are absent.
What is Social Communication Disorder?
A significant barrier that occurs when a monolingual English clinician evaluated a non-English-speaking family without a translator.
What is a Language Barrier?
A professional who provides daily behavioral observations from an educational setting.
Who is a Teacher?
Evaluation area focused on ruling out underlying genetic syndromes, seizures, or hearing difficulties.
What is Medical History?
A comprehensive, semi-structured clinical interview conducted entirely with caregivers to calculate a score.
What is ADI-R?
Term used when an individual meets full criteria for both ASD and another condition like ADHD simultaneously.
What are Co-occurring Conditions?
Error made when a provider strictly checks off test scores without applying any clinical observation or flexibility.
What is an Over-reliance on Test Scores?
An allied professional specializing in assessing sensory processing and fine motor needs.
Who is an Occupational Therapist (OT)?
The evauation process where a clinician actively monitors the client's behaviors and social interactions in real-time.
What is Direct Observation?
Professionals use this standardized rating scale to observe behavior and distinguish ASD from other developmental needs.
What is CARS-2?
Diagnosis involving low cognitive test scores and impaired adaptive functioning across all life domains.
What is an Intellectual Disability?
Systemic issue where cultural differences in eye contact or parenting are labeled as abnormal by an evaluator?
What is a Lack of Cultural Humility?
Medical doctor specializing in childhood development who can formally diagnose ASD.
Who is a Developmental Pediatrician?
Assessment domain that measures a child's real-world independence and daily living skills.
What is Adaptive Functioning?
The clinical attribute that must balance test cutoffs to prevent missed diagnoses when standardized tools fail to capture a presentation.
What is Clinical Judgment?
Psychological impact of early childhood neglect or abuse that can manifest as social detachment or sensory dysregulation.
What is Complex Trauma?
A provider-side limitation that heavily increases the likelihood of misidentifying atypical or subtle presentations of ASD.
What is Limited Clinician Experience?