Diagnostic Evaluation for Autism/Developmental Disorders - What to Expect

The evaluation will give you a good idea of where he is and whether he needs any of his services to be continued through a different program. I'd see if you could see test results before a meeting that makes decisions about placing him in any kind of program. Or suggest a meeting to explain test results at one time and another one to discuss placement. I think it's wise to have time to think over what the scores mean before going right into placement. The professionals, it comes easily to them because they deal with it all the time. But your son is an individual, and your input is very important. As a former special ed teacher myself, I'd be glad to help you to discern the testing results. I'm guessing others on here would be happy to help you as well.

Hi M.,
My son is in EI as well, he had the evaluation in April. He sees a S/T, D/T and O/T he has a speech delay and some sensory issues. So I made sure we went for a Medical Diagnostic to Illinois Masonic's Pediatrician Center because I wanted a thorough and professional evaulation. The evaluation was an hour long. It was with a Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrician, Occupational, Speech and Developmental Therapists and a psychologist. It pretty much took up our morning with the drive there and back. I was very nervous and had second thoughts about having it done. My worries were that they're going to label my son with who knows what. But today I am very happy we had this done and in a few months we will go for a follow-up. I have a copy of the evaluation and I show it to the therapists he sees. The information helps them a lot. At the end of the report there were Medical Recommendations and Developmental Recommendations. I followed through on the ones that I thought were important for my son to do. What didn't apply much I just stored in the back of my head. For example he wanted my son to have an MRI because he noticed an ackward gait. My son is a little clumsy sometimes and doesn't watch where he is going. He's gotten a lot better now. So no MRI. Ofcourse I discussed the entire evaluation with his Pediatrician right afterwards.
If you have any questions, feel free to contact me.
Bernie

it took quite a few hours when we did it. I recommend it so ensure you still get services through the school system. It may be outgrown at a later date but the more intervention you get hte higher the chances for success in school! We went through CHildrens Memorial... good luck

I'm sure that this will depend on where you go, but in our experience in July it was pretty much a full day. We saw Dr Appleby in Hinsdale. Our appointment was at 9:00. We brought my brother-in-law with to watch our child while we met with the doctor for about an hour (my brother-in-law then left). He then met with our son until about 11:30. We took a 45 minute lunch break and then he met with our son again until about 2:00 or 2:30. The doctor provided first impressions to my husband and I while our child played in the waiting room. We left the appointment by about 3:00/3:30. All in all, it went by fast, but I recommend bringing something for yourself to do while you wait and having someone with you to care for your child while you meet with the doctor. The full document of his report is to be expected within 2-3 weeks (in our case..a little longer because he sent us home with extra forms to fill out and the doctor took a vacation). We're actually still waiting for the report (uggh...). Best of luck to you and your family!

I haven't personally gone through this specific evaluation, however, my son receives services and I am a special ed teacher so I can tell you a bit. Typically you will have a parent interview where the evaluator will ask you questions regarding the home life, social behavior of your child etc. Then there will be child observation (either at home or in a facility). They will use different assessment tools (that all have weird names) but they are typically play-based. Sometimes they will use flashcards etc but for younger children it is usually play-based. It usually doesn't feel like a 'test' but just seeing how the child is in a more natural environment. I would doubt, for the sake of the child, that it would take longer than a few hours. Hope this helps.

Hi M.: I know you are both nervous and anxious with this eval. The reason I know is because my 4 yr old son began receiving EI services at 29 mos which believe it or not is a little behind all thing considering....however, once he started the sevices he received them twice a week, speech, ot and pt. Our main concern was Autism because his speech was extremely limited, but by the time he aged out of the program and received his medical diagnostic, his improvements were great. The eval took about 2hours at I'LL Masonic and the staff was amazing. He was dx with dev delays but not Autism howeve he still hand flaps a bit. Things we did: purchased "baby einsteins and baby babble" we ordered them from the internet. We put him in a Montessori school in am and developmental school 4 special needs kids in the pm. Our nutritionist advised us to give him a teaspoon of carlson lab fish oil per day....Our son at his initial EI eval was 1 1/2 delayed. I am excited to say he is now 95% on target and starts Statewide PreK in a blended classroom. We will keep him in the Montessori school too. Remember yo are your childs best advocate.

I was going to say all of the above that jennifer stated..
however we went through a neurologist at northwestern..

we also had testing done for fragile X... seizures and a ton of blood and urine tests..

overall the evaluation took 1hr.. blood urine took 30min..
had to come back get son to be sediated to be put under the mri machine that was the longest/scariest moment of them all.

good luck!!