Diagnoses: Autism.

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At what age was your child diagnosed as Autistic?

He was turning 3

I was diagnosed at 15.

My parents' kid (me...) was diagnosed at 27 with classic autism.

we had 3 diagnoses in our family over a 9 month period, in this order:

youngest son dx classic autism at 4 yrs old.
oldest son dx through the school only with asd, probable as or pdd-nos, at 14 yrs old.
SO dx classic autism at 39 yrs old.

My son's Aspergers was identified when he was 7.

My daughter was diagnosed at age 6.

Official dx just before she turned 12, although suspected before.
J.

suspected something at a few months old.
Dxd at almost 9 yo.

What is the difference between a private psychologist and a school diagnosis? I don't think schools around here (at least in my province) are allowed to make a diagnosis--just a suggestion). Is it different where you are? Are school diagnoses there seen as official or just more of a "high likelihood" that still needs a private diagnosis?

i am in the united states, and our federal laws require the states to identify, evaluate, and service kids with disabilities. these things are done through your local school district. to get special ed services (OT, ST, PT, accommodations, etc), a child has to be evaluated and given eligibility by the school, whether an independent medical diagnosed has been done or not. if you dont get that educational diagnosis of eligibility, you generally cant get services. the educational dx is done by professionals, usually involving a psychologist, so they are pretty valid, but in my experience, there is no specificity in regards to the autism diagnosis. its just asd, they dont break it down into classic, as, or pdd-nos. if you are trying to get services provided through insurance, you likely would need the medical dx as the school dx probably isnt enough.

I see--thank you for the clarification!

littlelily, it's the same in Canada, at least in my province (NB). There are school psychologists who can provide educational assessments of ASD, ADHD, etc. Children experiencing difficulty are referred to them (it typically goes through the teacher, methods & resource / guidance / special ed teachers at the school, principal and at some point a physician's signature, I think). Some school psychologists are really excellent.
Or you can do what I did, which was to go to a private psychologist recommended by my daughter, who is an Autism Intervention Worker. Problem is, you have to cover the cost of the assessment and treatment. If you decide to go this route, my advice is to consult your physician before making the appointment, since private/group insurance will cover a part of this in that case. (We're still waiting, so I guess we should have developed a plan with the physician before putting our dd on the waiting list; don't know how we could tell what would be involved without meeting the psych., though.)
In either case, the waiting lists are several months long.
J.