Different Types of Autism Assessment tools

Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder that hampers one’s ability to process and respond to one’s surroundings. If a person is autistic, then he is born with that condition, and the symptoms for the same start showing up when a person is young. It is challenging to assess autism in an infant or a toddler as their cognitive abilities are still under development. 

At this juncture, it is essential to note that Autism is not an ‘illness’, and there is no definitive cure for the same. It is essentially a spectrum with varying symptoms, and we cannot put every autistic person or child in a standard bracket. Broadly speaking, autistic people are sensitive to loud noises and bright colours. They find it difficult to understand and synthesise the environment around them. When can look for the following signs in a child to detect Autism

• An autistic child will find it difficult to make eye contact. They will possibly be unable to imitate hand movements and sounds. 
• They might give unusual or extreme reactions to an outside stimulus due to possible triggering by one or more of their environmental factors.
• They might also exhibit compulsive or obsessive behaviours. 
• They might feel very awkward in social situations. 
• Their ability to control their impulses might be hampered.
• A total or partial loss of speech

Although it is not possible to cure autism, with the help of proper support and therapy, the challenges posed by this particular disorder can be managed. Brilliant Life Services pivots around the idea of providing the right support to the right people at the right place.

Autism can affect a person in varying degrees. Let us look at the

Types of Autism 

• Asperger’s Syndrome 

This is a common type of Autism, but its name has been changed to Level 1 Autism. In this type, a child exhibits an above-average IQ and relatively ‘normal’ developmental abilities, but his social skills will be hampered. This might translate into an inability to make friends, interact with others and manage or switch between activities.

• Rett Syndrome 

In this type of Autism, a child might find it difficult to develop his speech skills and in some cases have breathing difficulties too. 

• Childhood Disintegrative Disorder 

In this type, a child will experience a lot of difficulty in developing his speech, functional, and motor skills. This can cause a lot of challenges in handling one’s routine activities. 

• Kanner’s syndrome 

A child with Kanner’s syndrome will be fairly ‘normal’ in terms of their intelligence but their ability to connect and interact with others will be wayward. They might also find it difficult to learn new skills other than the ones they are comfortable in. 

• Pervasive developmental disorder – not otherwise specified (PDD – NOS)

This is a mild type of autism and mostly affects the language development and motor skills of a person. 

Brilliant Life Services aims at providing top-notch assistive care and support to people with disabilities, their families, and caregivers. The team of therapists at Brilliant life services might use the following 

Types of Autism Assessment tools 

• Child Autism Rating Scale

It is a fifteen-point observation chart that is used to detect Autism in its early stages. 

• Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule 

This is a very effective method of identifying autism in children from twelve months of age to adults. It is a structured process of figuring out a person’s reactions in a dynamic setup. 

• Autism detection in early childhood 

In this method, a team of experienced professionals will infer the anomalies in a child’s developmental abilities to look for signs of Autism. 

• Autism diagnostic interview 

It is a categorically structured interview to look for signs of autism in a child or an adult. The interview is conducted by a team of professional occupational therapists. 

• The Social Communication Questionnaire

This Autism Assessment tool is used by professionals in a collaborative effort with the caregivers of the child or adult. The caregiver needs to fill out a questionnaire based on his experience and understanding of the respective person. 

A comprehensive evaluation is imperative for timely detection and management of Autism. This condition requires a lot of support and understanding from the caregivers and professional therapists to make an autistic person lead their life in a happier and more balanced way.

You can learn more about – What is psychological assessment?