Did anyone watch nightline on Girls with Autism?

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I don't understand why it should be so expensive to get a diagnosis? Surely any specialist worth their salt could make one after one or two sessions tops?

most of the docs around here won't take insurance whatsoever.....therfore it's left up to the patient to pay for it all up front

Ster: don't know whether it's usefull or not, but I thought you might be interested. It's from an article on a different topic. Full article:
http://apt.rcpsych.org/cgi/content/full/7/4/310

Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (DSM–IV)
Attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) presents with inattention, distractability, fidgetiness, impulsivity and hyperactivity. Persons with HFA spectrum disorders may be hyperactive, impulsive, have a short attention span and share similar executive function deficits as patients with ADHD. The conditions differ in that ADHD lacks the classic impairment in reciprocal social interaction, narrow interests, repetitive routines and non-verbal problems of Asperger syndrome. In accordance with a hierarchical rule in DSM–IV, a person meeting the criteria for a pervasive developmental disorder cannot be diagnosed as having ADHD. This is not the case in ICD–10, in which a dual diagnosis of Asperger syndrome and ADHD is possible.

Gillberg & Ehlers (1998) point out that children who meet criteria for ADHD may also meet the full criteria for Asperger syndrome. They mention one study, in which 21% of children with severe ADHD met the full criteria for Asperger syndrome and 36% showed autistic traits. A developmental history is usually sufficient to separate ADHD from Asperger syndrome, but ADHD can present as soon as the child can walk, and it is important to consider that impulsivity can interfere with social relationships, making children appear unempathic. Indeed, children with ADHD can be so easily distracted that they appear to be in a world of their own and therefore seem socially disconnected. It is not surprising, therefore, that children with Asperger syndrome are not uncommonly misdiagnosed as having ADHD, since it is often the attention and hyperactive problems that parents first observe.

thanks katrine. will read the full article.....in the meantime, this is what the doc who did the eval had to say about some specifics:

daughter's reciprocal social interaction was not restricted enough....said her narrow interests didn't interfere enough with her ability to converse with others....said he didn't see her routinges as being too repetitive.......

My son's narrow interests don't and have never interfered with his ability to coverse with others (his autism does!).

When he was first observed, his repetitive behaviour and routines weren't obvious, either - even now, he doesn't stim, but has certain games he plays a lot. At first glance they can seem pretty "normal" - at a younger age they certainly did, the difference was that he played the same games a lot! He learned how to play from his brother, so the games in themselves were pretty "normal".

We were sent on to a childrens psychiatric center where they had a LOT more experience, and within 5 minutes they said he had infatile autism.

To cut a long story short, experience means everything when it comes to diagnosing autism!!
Any way, good luck

I did see that segment on ABC news and it was a huge wake-up call for me. My 6 year old son was diagnosed recently with AS, but the school psychologist thinks his 8 year old sister has ADHD. I know it's more than that. She struggles so much in social situations. She wants to be like all the other girls, but she can't. She acts very immature sometimes or she exhibits just plain strange behavior that she thinks the other kids will think is fun and silly, but it's just weird.

We were so much more concerned about our son because of his meltdowns. Our daughter whines and pitches fits about her clothing, etc, but it didn't "look" like her brothers tantrums.

We've scheduled appointments for her to be tested, but I know this is what she has also. I feel so bad that I overlooked her issue, but at least now I think we're headed in the right direction.

Thank God for ABC doing this report!!

Susan