Source Sense Center
For children with autism, developing social skills can be very important while they are still young, but often the diagnosis does not happen until they start school. Sometimes this is because ADHD or sensory processing issues are identified first. These diagnoses are often correct, but in order to receive the right treatment, children also need a diagnosis of autism.
There are a number of reasons why early screenings don't always detect autism. Doctors often avoid diagnosing autism if it could be something else. They first want to see how the child develops. Sometimes children who have both ASD and autism are simply diagnosed with severe ASD. Then no one realizes that there is more going on until the child starts school and the social aspects of autism become more apparent.
Autism is also more difficult to diagnose than ASD or sensory problems during routine checkups with a family doctor. Therefore, it cannot be diagnosed during a standard examination. Autism has a range of symptoms that appear differently in different children. If your child's doctor is not a specialist, they may not recognize that your child is showing signs of autism.
If you have a young child who you think may have autism, it is best to take them to see a multidisciplinary team consisting of a child psychiatrist, clinical psychologist, and speech therapist. Early diagnosis is very beneficial for children with autism, so it is advisable to be proactive rather than wait to see how things develop.
For children on the autism spectrum, very early social skills training, preferably before school age, can have a major impact on their later development. For one reason or another, many children miss out on this crucial intervention.
For many, it is not because they are not diagnosed, but because they are initially given a different diagnosis. Often this is ADHD, diagnosed by a pediatrician at 2 or 3 years of age. Or parents are told that their child has sensory processing issues. Until then, autism is isolated until the demands of school and social situations increase. One mother we know received both—sensory processing at age 2 and ASD at age 4—before her son was diagnosed with autism shortly before his fifth birthday.
These initial assessments are not necessarily inaccurate. It is estimated that 30 to 40% of children with autism spectrum disorder also have ADHD, and sensory processing challenges are so common in children with autism that they are considered a symptom of the disorder. But they can delay an autism diagnosis if practitioners and parents stop there. And while these children receive treatment for ASD or sensory processing issues, they miss out on therapy that could have a much more important impact on their lives.
Early intervention is essential to prevent an unconfirmed diagnosis from hindering development.