Autism diagnosis from psych vs neurologist

What would be the difference in an autism diagnosis from a psych that did a psych evaluation or a neurologist? Is one diagnosis more accurate than the other? It may seem like a silly question but my daughters diagnosis has always been questionable.

Re: Autism diagnosis from psych vs neurologist

I feel the same way! I keep wanting to see different doctors because no one seems to be in agreement and I want answers! But sometimes there is no answer until they are a little older. I went to a SEPTA meeting recently where it was mentioned that a young child's diagnosis can change a few times until the child is a little older about 7 years old and then they have a better idea of what the diagnosis is. In the meantime we get them help for the issues and a more accurate diagnosis will come later. I don't think this really helped!

Re: Autism diagnosis from psych vs neurologist

I had to take one of my twins to a neurologist for shaking when he was upset (this was a couple years ago). The neurologist was very clear to me that they only check physical conditions and anything further goes to a developmental ped. So they ran a brain scan and some other test (forgot the name) and there was no underlying physical issue.

We did take him to a developmental ped for an evaluation. She met with us and said she didn't think autism was a concern for him and asked us if we agreed and we said yes. She said she asks because if parents want to have their children evaluated for autism, she said there is a pretty extensive diagnostic test they do (we never had the test so not sure what was involved.

Not sure if this helps you, but just wanted to tell you my experience. In my case, we spent a lot more time with the developmental ped than the neurologist.

Re: Autism diagnosis from psych vs neurologist

My DS was diagnosed by a child psych when he was 2. I also was told that the diagnosis could change as he got older. Since then, we have consulted with both a neurologist, and a developmental ped. I asked about confirming the diagnosis.

The neuro seemed uninterested unless it meant we were seeking medication and sent us on our way. We were seeing her for another reason, so that could be why, but I really didn't like the way she handled it. The developmental ped said that he felt that the tests are created in such a way that the level of certainty is pretty high, regardless of who administered the test. He felt that I could have testing done outside of what the school psych has done, but we would probably end up spending a lot of money to see similar if not the same results. He referred me to a child psychologist for testing if that was the route we wanted to go. So based on that, I would look for a child psychologist who is experienced in diagnosing autism.