MENTAL HEALTH & DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES RESOURCES

Autism is classified as a Pervasive Developmental Disorder under Medical/Mental Health diagnostic criteria. If there is any question of a combination of early sensory, communication and social developmental problems present, best practice dictates an Autism Spectrum screening, comprehensive developmental evaluations, and formal diagnostic observation. WAITING TO SEE is not an option without great risks of harm to our children and families. Earliest possible screening, detection, loss-prevention, and proactive intervention are critical best practices for us. Our families need immediate access to skilled and experienced screeners, evaluators, and diagnosticians to provide: first baseline measures, then ongoing tracking evaluations, and finally a formal determination of whether their child meets the medical criteria of Autism. This work needs to begin in the second year of infancy and be completed between the ages of 18 to 36 months. It may continue on up to as late as adolescence for children with mild/remitting Autism and Aspergers. If these windows are missed for any reason, we just need to get going ASAP. Don't regret the past and its missed opportunities--get going!

Only a medically lisenced mental health professional with specific training and strong clinical experience in Autism can conduct a thorough observation and parent interview to diagnose this condition. Pediatricians do not focus on educational syndromes in their medical training and educational providers are not lisenced or mandated to provide Autism diagnoses. However, both these professionals can provide eligibility evaluations to help you get therapuetic and educational services, and may be great front-line screener sources. Ask for their help.

It is important to note that while Autism is listed as a mental health condition, clinical talk-oriented therapies are NOT an effective or efficient use of public or private resources. These kinds of traditional psychodynamic therapies can present a risk harm for people with Autism. Autism is an educationally-related condition that calls for a substantial life span skills teaching program linked to established best Autism practices that address behavioral symptoms in relation to underlying sensory/motor/information processing, communication systems, and social reasoning losses. Research consistently shows that trial and error work in brief clinical sessions with even the most well-meaning, but still under-trained, mental health professionals can create more problems than it solves over time. To avoid these risks all providers need adequate to extensive Autism training, provider experience, and program supervision by skilled Autism provider mentors, before they begin to work on their own with people with Autism and their families.

About Half of all People with Autism may often also meet the singular criteria for developmental delay (mental retardation). However, programs must be centered on Autism and then adapt to other learning style/level problems to be successful. The listings below are the public agencies and private non-profit organizations that provide government program funding and oversight or that may provide indirect Autism services and direct intervention programs in your location.

Federal Department of Health and Human Services (HHS)
Phone: 1-877-696-6775
Email:hhsmail@os.dhhs.gov
Web: www.hhs.gov