Autism diagnosis usually starts with a thorough interview with the parents, who describe the past development of their child, distressing behaviours or the course of pregnancy.
The risk of autism spectrum disorders is assessed through the M-CHAT-R/F screening test. The tool can also be used by a specialist to make the diagnosis, by the GP during follow-up visits or at home by the parent.
When using M-CHAT-R/F, it should be noted that the high-risk group is much broader than the number of children diagnosed with the autism spectrum. That is because such children may be included in groups with a high risk of other disorders.
Usually, a single specialist participates in meetings with the parents, but sometimes the interview may be conducted by several persons. The next stage involves careful observation of the child, usually conducted by a team consisting of a psychologist, teacher and speech therapist, who analyse the behaviour of the child during typical activities, such as playing with the parents, talking or making contact.
During this stage, it is checked how the children react to other persons, how they act when playing alone or how capable they are of following instructions. The diagnosis may involve the ADOS-2 instrument, which helps the specialist during the diagnostic process, or other tests indicated by the specialist.
The diagnostic process may include psychological tests, comprehensive hearing and eyesight assessment, blood smear test, neurological tests and surveys to be filled out by the children and their parents.