When you are seeking an Autism evaluation for your child, it can be quite scary and anxiety-provoking. Our process is warm and compassionate, allowing the authenticity of the whole person to be captured, including an accurate diagnosis and treatment recommendations. We work with the client, primary caregivers, and other important persons to gather the necessary information throughout the process. We also ensure that we have a complete understanding of the individual’s strengths, challenges, interests, skills, and talents so that a comprehensive understanding is achieved. This in-depth process is critical to ensure that you have the answers you need for what you or your child are experiencing and a roadmap for the support and treatment plan that will follow.
It is important to have a qualified and experienced professional complete the evaluation for an accurate diagnosis and for determining early intervention and ongoing treatment. Differential diagnoses are considered throughout the process, and many of these diagnoses have similar symptoms and behaviors. Our professionals are skilled and trained in understanding issues such as ADHD, OCD, tic disorders, anxiety, and trauma. An Autism Diagnosis is made by following the criteria in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – 5th Edition, TR (DSM5-TR).
The Evaluation Process
Types of Evaluations
- Adult
- Child/Adolescent
- Infant/toddler
What is Included
- Language Development
- Communication Patterns
- Behavioral Patterns
- Social Interactions
Evaluation Cost
Check in with your insurance provider to ensure you are aware of your insurance coverage. Most insurance companies will cover at least a portion of the evaluation, even if out of network benefits are utilized. Our Billing Team is available to answer any questions you may have about the cost, and our Client Care Team is available to answer any questions about the process.
What to Expect
- Timeframe/# of sessions (Structured Clinical Interview, including Developmental and Records Review)
- Classroom/School Observation and Collaboration with other professionals
- Psychological Assessments: Social and Behavioral Assessments
- Developmental Assessments and rating scales
- Parent Session/Feedback Session
- Comprehensive Report
- Ongoing Support and Collaboration – helps clients achieve their full potential. We consult with teachers, and other medical and service professionals to coordinate care and treatment goals.
Treatment Post Evaluation
After receiving a diagnosis, it can be overwhelming. There are so many components to treatment and so many differing philosophies. We have worked with Autistic individuals for decades, and what remains true and clear is the mental health of these individuals is just as important as learning more adaptive behaviors and social skills. Research has shown that neurodiverse individuals also struggle with anxiety, depression, and self-harming behaviors. With a good treatment plan to support mental health, neurodiverse individuals can overcome many of life’s obstacles and challenges.
Mental Health Support
At Embark Counseling Services, our therapists help support the mental health needs of neurodiverse individuals using neurodiversity-affirming and evidenced-based approaches including the following:
- CBT
- Play Therapy
- Attachment Focused Family Therapy
- We can provide referrals or recommendations for supportive therapies such as Occupational Therapy (OT), Physical Therapy (PT), Speech-Language Pathology (SLP).
Advocacy & Collaboration with Other Systems
When determining if an organization will allow accommodations, they require a professional to evaluate and provide a diagnosis, typically with recommendations for accommodations and supports. This may also require the professional to present a formal report to include specific information about how your diagnosis both historically and currently affects your ability to function within the academic or work setting and rule out other possible sources for occurring symptoms.
The value of a comprehensive approach for these evaluations explains the diagnosis, functionality of the individual, as well as providing a summary of the strengths and challenges that the individual experiences, and provides a thorough, realistic plan for addressing the issues by providing recommendations for academic, occupational, social skills and/or daily functioning.
We offer review of school-developed accommodations and Individualized Education Plan (IEP) to help adequately address and advocate for your child’s needs and help collaborate and transfer school routine and behavior management to the home.We also provide ongoing collaboration with other providers and schools, to ensure consistency and communication across the entire team of professionals.
Unsure if You Should Pursue an Evaluation?
Are you concerned about some of your child’s behaviors or developmental issues, but not sure is you should pursue an evaluation? Below are a few of the symptoms and behaviors that we typically see when a family is seeking an evaluation.
- Social Skills Problems (trouble with developing and maintaining friendships/relationships, awkward social interactions or difficulty reading social cues)
- Resistant to change or difficulty with transitions
- Abnormal eye contact (e.g., limited or prolonged)
- History of developmental delays
- Executive Functioning Difficulties
- Inability to plan, organize or complete tasks
- Self-Control
- Flexibility
- Working Memory Difficulties
- Time Management
- Perseverance
- Attention
- Emotional Regulation Difficulties
- Oppositional Behaviors
- Impulsivity
- Aggression
- Restricted or fixated interests
- Rigid thinking patterns/behaviors
- Sensory seeking/avoidant behaviors
Our Autism Evaluation Specialized Professionals
