Autism Diagnosis in Adults

[Friend of a Mouse]

I'm hoping to get some advice here. I work with adults who are blind or visually impaired as the Braille and Academic instructor. I have a client right now whom I strongly suspect has autism due to several issue (significant echolalia, very poor comprehension, self-stimulatory behaviors, etc.)

Looking at the info we have, it does not appear this person has been screened for autism in the past. Some places don't like to screen blind kids because "blindisms" can look a lot like autism, but the degree I'm seeing it makes me suspect that something more is going on because the testing does not add up.

I don't have any actual screening tools at work. We are trying to find an informal one online that can suggest if further screening is needed to help us guide a possible neuropsych referral. The issue is that the ones I am finding for adults are all self reporting and include statements like, "I find it difficult to pretend". This person does not have the comprehension ability to answer questions. I'm looking more for something like an Autism Rating Scale that allows an observer to rate behaviors. I know this will not be a valid instrument for actual diagnosis, we are simply looking for some more guidance. Thank you.

 

[bookwormde]

It is important to remember that many of the diagnostic presentations of Autism are to a significant extent made more prominent or are to a significant extent derived from anxiety, so if serious anxiety from other sources are present then extra care must be taken in a diagnosis.

At this point given that over 50% of the genetic components of Autism have been identified finding one of the studies in this area would likely generate the most useful results.

If you happen to be on the east coast then I would go straight to Kennedy Krieger (Johns Hopkins, Baltimore) to get an evaluation. I am not sure any of the informal on line tools would be of much value due to the complicating factors.

 

[Friend of a Mouse]

That's what I was afraid of. I think at this point we will be recommending evaluation by a professional in this area.

Out of curiosity: do those who have autism or family members with autism feel that the diagnosis is important for an adult? We're trying to find services the families might qualify for if this is the case, but are having difficulty finding things in the area that work with adults, particularly those with more severe disabilities. Our main goal is to identify an appropriate vocational goal, so I'm not sure how much difference a formal diagnosis will make at this point. Thoughts?

 

[bookwormde]

That's what I was afraid of. I think at this point we will be recommending evaluation by a professional in this area.

Out of curiosity: do those who have autism or family members with autism feel that the diagnosis is important for an adult? We're trying to find services the families might qualify for if this is the case, but are having difficulty finding things in the area that work with adults, particularly those with more severe disabilities. Our main goal is to identify an appropriate vocational goal, so I'm not sure how much difference a formal diagnosis will make at this point. Thoughts?

A clinical diagnosis can have direct value, but much more important for adults is to understand the nature of the genetics and the gifts and challenges that come along with them. Once an individual understands and accepts their differences derived form the genetics, in a balanced perspective it removes a tremendous burden, and opens paths that did not exist in practicality before and this does not require a formal clinical diagnosis.

 

[barkley]

That's what I was afraid of. I think at this point we will be recommending evaluation by a professional in this area.

Out of curiosity: do those who have autism or family members with autism feel that the diagnosis is important for an adult? We're trying to find services the families might qualify for if this is the case, but are having difficulty finding things in the area that work with adults, particularly those with more severe disabilities. Our main goal is to identify an appropriate vocational goal, so I'm not sure how much difference a formal diagnosis will make at this point. Thoughts?

my son wasn't diagnosed till age 15 but it was very important for him AND US. it helped us to better understand the challenges he had, and to learn those he could work to overcome as well as those we all had to learn to adapt to. another benefit for an adult is getting them appropriate therapy (including family inclusive) b/c it can work wonders with improving and solidifying relationships. on the vocational end-some of the community colleges (like the one our son will attend part time while finishing high school next year) offer specific non credit courses to adults on the spectrum geared specially to using teaching techniques proven successful with these folks-ds's offers vocational exploration, job hunting, and practicing both the interview to get the job, and the techniques to succeed on the job.

a good resource in your area would be the ARC of Missouri-they could let you know what advantages having an actual diagnoses for an adult would provide service and support wise.

 

[clm10308]

As a former VI teacher, I will say that it is going to be very difficult to find someone who will diagnos a blind child or adult with autism since some of the symptoms can often be attributed to visual impairments.

The only time I was ever successful in getting autisim addressed for one of my students was by sending him to a residential placement at our state school for the blind. Since all the staff there is very familiar with working with kids with visual impairments, they were able to pick out the behaviors that were due to autism and gave him the AU label.
In the 8 yrs I worked with that district, none of the district's autism "experts" would give any of out VI students an AU label because the felt that they could not rule out the visual impairment as a cause of the behavior issues.