Unfortunately, it hasn't been so straight forward in my case. My DD6 was evaluated by a well-regarded developmental pediatrician with over 25 years of experience with autism/aspergers including gifted. She saw my daughter at age 4.5 and again at age 5.5, and both times said DEFINITELY 100% certain not on the spectrum. During the second visit, she attributed DD's behavior to ADHD. In the middle of those two visits I saw a private psychologist who also said definitely not Asperger's.
Despite these pretty "definitive answers", teachers and parents of kids on the spectrum keep telling me that they think my daughter has Asperger's, that it can be hard to get the correct diagnosis, that it took them years to get the right diagnosis for their kid, etc.
Yes. It took us years to get the correct diagnosis (DS was 5.) Some kids (especially girls) figure out some coping strategies to mask how socially confused they are. Some practitioners write off obvious issues as "due to giftedness" when there is an underlying disability causing them. Our DS fell into the latter case.
I'm curious about why some of the previous posters are wary of school psychologists. Why should I trust their diagnosis less than I should trust those of private professionals? I just want the school to be able to accommodate her needs and help her with her challenges.
A school psychologist will probably not have all the tools and knowledge a private practitioner will have. (Our school psych had never heard of the ADOS, which is the best test for distinguishing autism spectrum disorders from other things. She was also highly motivated NOT to identify DS.) In many parts of the country a school psych has only a Master's degree, and they are qualified to make educational assessments but not to diagnose or treat a disability.
The educational assessment is very important, because it gives access to services and supports; but if you really want to know the full picture, it's worth seeing a private practitioner in parallel. The two processes are not equivalent.
DeeDee
