Autism Assessments & Diagnosis in Western Australia

Autism Assessment Process

The autism assessment process can be confusing for parents beginning to investigate the possibility of a diagnosis. In Western Australia, autism assessments can be sought out with a referral from a paediatrician, a GP or a self-referral.

What’s involved?

Different practices and clinicians may utilise different tools to assess a child for autism. At CommuniKids Speech Therapy, our autism assessments consist of three components:

1.      Parent interview – a comprehensive parent interview is completed with one or both caregivers. This involves questions pertaining to general history, as well as questions specific to an autism diagnosis.

2.      Child assessment – the speech pathologist completes an assessment with the child. This involves a variety of tasks during which the speech therapist observes for verbal and non-verbal indicators of autism.

3.      Additional information – the speech therapist will then gather additional information from other therapists, teachers, day care educators and other sources as needed. If required, a school or day care observation may also be completed.

Once these components are completed, the speech pathologist will prepare a comprehensive report, addressing the DSM-5 criteria for autism.

In WA, an autism diagnosis for a child under 12 requires an assessment to be completed by a paediatrician, a psychologist and a speech pathologist. Adolescents between 13 – 17 will require an assessment by a paediatrician or psychiatrist, a psychologist, and a speech pathologist if required. A provisional diagnosis may also be able to be obtained with a speech pathologist and psychologist’s assessment, which can allow for access to some funding options while waiting for the diagnosis to be finalised.

CommuniKids Speech Therapy currently offers the speech therapy component of the autism assessment. Get in contact today to discuss what we offer and current availabilities with one of our friendly admin staff.