How did you get a dx for your child?

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My ds, 28 mos, has so far only been diagnosed with hypotonia. The neurologist said it was up to us whether or not to give him a brain scan, but he would have to be put to sleep. We decided not to do it, and are instead having him tested by the regional center to see if he qualifies for OT /PT. Our pediatrician is out of town for a week, so I really don't know what to do next.

Do speech and occupational therapists make the diagnosis of AS for children, or who does? I am wondering if we are doing the right thing by not doing the scan. Would it actually give us some information that could actually help him? My husband has been diagnosed with ADD, just from a questionnaire, but we are both very certain that he doesn't fit that profile and are both pretty certain that he is an aspie. We are also pretty certain that I am, too.

I am not certain that ds is, but he certainly has many of the traits- at 3 months he could sit and read the same book for 20-30 minutes, taught himself the numbers at 18 mos, names the characters from the Veggie Tales or Thomas the Tank Engine from morning to night, will ask to go home from the park after less than 30 minutes, especially if it's crowded, lines up stuff all over the house, and of course has all the floppy movements that go along with hypotonia. But I don't know if that is all due to the fact that he really can't move himself around easily and has simply found other ways to occupy his time.

Any thoughts or experiences would be greatly appreciated.

A scan might rule out other issues, but I don't know that it would diagnose autism - as far as I know there still is no one medical test for autism. My son was a little older than yours but he had regressed and lost speech so he was diagnosed first by a neuro-psych and then we also took him to see a pediatric neurologist and a child psychiatrist and another pediatric neurologist to confirm the diagnosis. When my daughter was 2 she was not developing language so the doctor referred us for additional testing through a program through the ISD (Intermediate School District)for children under 3. So, you might want to call them to see what they have to offer.

Speech/Occupational Therapists indeed do see many children with ASDs all of the time but I do not think they are able to diagnose anything. I think their only goal is to work with the language and sensitivity issues.

On the other hand, by working with your child, if they see signs of ASDs, they can recommend that you have the child seen by someone who can diagnose ASDs (child Psychiatrist or psychologist, pediatric neurologist, etc) and make notes on what they see and why they made the recommendation.

if the brain scan is covered by insurance, i say go for it....the more information you have, the better. as far as diagnosing goes~for a formal diagnosis ( one that school systems will pay attention to), it's best to have him diagnosed by a neuropsychologist or psychologist....at the very least, diagnosed by someone who knows alot about autism and aspergers.

An ot/pt can administer the MCHAT in California and recommend a child for further evaluation by the Regional Center. There are no medical testes for autism. Some doctors do a battery of tests including an MRI when there is an autism dx-some dont unless there is a suspision of a chromasonal disorder or seizure activity. My daughter got an MRI to rule out TS. Some parents would like to have those tests done for informational purposes some dont like to have invasive proceedures done if there is no need. Its a personal preference.