What is a diagnosis?
Dec 26th, 2007 by Study Abroad
A diagnosis is the formal identification of autism, usually by a health professional such as a paediatrician or a psychiatrist. Having a diagnosis is helpful for two reasons:
- it helps people with autism (and their families) to understand why they may experience certain difficulties and what they can do about them
- it allows people to access services and support.
Peoples GPs can refer them to a specialist who is able to make a diagnosis. Many people are diagnosed as children; parents, carers and professionals who work with children such as teachers can all ask GPs for a referral.
Some professionals may refer to autism by a different name, such as autism or autistic spectrum disorder (ASD), classic autism or Kanner autism, pervasive developmental disorder (PDD) or high-functioning autism (HFA).