We are pleased to announce that a new agreement has been reached with Aetna. This allows Valley to continue to be an in-network provider for Aetna-insured patients and will cover services provided since previous contracts ended June 1, 2025. We understand how important it is for our patients to retain in-network access to the doctors, programs, and expert care teams they know and trust. Thank you for your patience throughout this process.
Autism Spectrum Disorders are complex in the way that they manifest, blending any variety of strengths and challenges among several developmental areas (e.g. communication, social interaction, “unusual behaviors”, motor skills, play/imagination/creativity, cognition, social-emotional skills, etc.), but with some core differences in select areas (e.g. communication, social interaction, repetitive, restrictive or unusual behaviors). Because of the variability in how ASD presents, it is difficult for medical providers and families to notice the need for assessment, but early identification is critical for the best prognosis. At Valley Medical Center, there is a specialized and dedicated team of professionals involved in the diagnostics for ASD:
The following information outlines Part 1 of a series of 5, about the importance of early identification, intervention, and support for both patients diagnosed with ASD and their families. All parts within the series are as follows:
Part 1: ASD-Early Identification
Part 2: ASD-Prevalence and Comorbid Issues
Part 3: ASD-Support
Part 4: ASD-Treatment
Part 5: ASD-Communicating with People Diagnosed with ASD
Why is Early Identification of ASD Important?
A significant delay in diagnosis exists between symptom onset (usually between 12-18 months of age) and the average age of diagnosis (usually between 4-6 years of age).
1. To optimize child outcome; intervene before the full syndrome/disorder is manifested and try to alter the trajectory of the child’s development:
2. To educate and empower families:
3. To understand causes and improve treatments:
General ASD Diagnostics
ASD diagnostics are challenging and complex as they currently consist of observational screenings and tests along with significant interviewing of family members. First, the primary care physician might administer and discuss the patient’s development to date as well as administer the M-CHAT-R/F (ages 16-30 months of age). For additional screenings the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) website references other tools and also provides a wealth of information on their “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” webpage. For children beyond the M-CHAT-R/F screening period, parental concern may be a significant reason to act quickly and refer a child for an evaluation specifically in the area of ASD.
If concerns continue to persist for ASD, referrals to other professionals like speech-language pathology for communication, occupational therapy for sensory integration and processing and play and fine motor development, audiology for an evaluation of hearing, ophthalmology for vision evaluation, and neurology for an evaluation of the patient’s neurological system. Besides neurologists, other providers who may make an autism diagnosis include psychiatrists and developmental pediatricians.
Please refrain from indicating a high- versus low-functioning form of ASD. These terms:
Dr. Barry Prizant’s Recommended Top 10 Service Provider Supports for PATIENTS:
Dr. Barry Prizant’s Recommended Top 10 Service Provider Supports for PARENTS:
Resources:
-VMC process for ASD Diagnostics https://www.valleymed.org/Our-Services/Childrens-Therapy/Autism-Testing-Checklist/
-M-CHAT-R/F https://mchatscreen.com/mchat-rf/
-Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/hcp-screening.html
-Learn the Signs. Act Early https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/index.html?CDC_AA_refVal=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cdc.gov%2Factearly%2Findex.html
-Resource on how service providers can support patients and families with ASD: http://barryprizant.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/asq16_join_us_on_the_journey_winter_2011.pdf
References:
-Adaptions from Laure Swinford’s October 13, 2018 WSLHA workshop “Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence-Based Assessment and Treatment Recommendations for SLPs
-CDC Screening and Diagnosis of ASD https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/screening.html
-Why Early Diagnosis of Autism in Children is a Good Thing through posted by Karola Dillenburger, Professor in the School of Education, Queen’s University Belfast on The Conversation website http://theconversation.com/why-early-diagnosis-of-autism-in-children-is-a-good-thing-33290
-Early Autism Diagnosis: What Parents Need to Know posted by Peg Rosen on Parents website https://www.parents.com/health/autism/symptoms/importance-of-early-detection-autism/
-How Early Intervention Can Help Your Child With Autism posted by Lisa Jo Rudy and medically reviewed by Jonathan B. Jassey, DO on very well health website https://www.verywellhealth.com/early-intervention-for-children-with-autism-260139
-Early Intervention Makes a Huge Difference for Autistic Children posted on the Autism Spectrum Disorder Foundation website http://myasdf.org/site/media-center/articles/early-intervention-makes-a-huge-difference-for-autistic-children/
-Early Diagnosis of Autism and Impact on Prognosis: a narrative review by Elisabeth Fernell, Mats Anders Eriksson, and Christopher Gillberg in Clinical Epidemiology https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3583438/
-Why is Early Detection and Diagnosis So Important posted on the Lighthouse Autism Center website https://lighthouseautismcenter.com/infographic-early-detection-diagnosis-autism/
-Why Timely Diagnosis of Autism is Important posted by Tracy Elliot, Head of Research with Cerebra https://cerebra.org.uk/research/why-timely-diagnosis-of-autism-is-important/
-Bringing up a child with disabilities is at least three times as expensive as bringing up other children, a recent study showed parents spend on average greater than $200 a month out-of-pocket on services https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/143/1/e20180654?download=true
-High- and Low-Functioning Autism: A False (Harmful?) Dichotomyhttp://barryprizant.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/asq21_high_low_functioning.pdf