Appropriate Deficiency Syndrome (ASD)

The ability for a mental health professional or physician to diagnose a child with ASD is tied to the age of the child as well as the severity of symptoms. Children can be diagnosed as early as 12 months of age, but these infants typically have more severe and noticeable differences such as language regression, unusual mannerisms, severe developmental delays, or having relatives with ASD (Valicenti-McDermott, Hottinger, Seijo, & Shulman, 2012). Typically, ages 4-5 are when the majority of children are diagnosed with ASD, as it coincides with the commencement of preschool or kindergarten when these children are expected to socialize with their peers but rather begin displaying certain behavioral differences.
One of the main issues with the
process of diagnosis and treatment for children with ASD is the latency periods. There is a range in time between when a parent notices potential symptoms and when they receive a formal diagnosis, often lasting six months or more. Additionally, many parents will intentionally avoid seeking out a diagnosis or treatment for fear of stigmatizing their child. The other issue here is that many underserved or lower socioeconomic families are under-educated on potential symptoms to be looking for, and therefore do not realize that their child may be on the spectrum. Additionally, once a diagnosis is obtained there is generally an additional latency period in finding and setting up intervention services. Depending on the city in which the family is living, there could be as little as one or no professionals who specialize in providing treatment to children with autism. Then, even if there are specialists in the area, parents often struggle with lengthy wait lists.
Multiple studies have implicated the importance of early diagnosis and early treatment in the positive outcome of children with ASD (McNamara, 2003). For example, in a study investigating the outcome of 4-year-olds diagnosed at age 2, they found that treatment improved symptoms to the point that many of the children included in the study with a diagnosis of ASD at age 2 were functioning at the level of a typically developing child at age 4 (Sutera et al., 2007). In contrast, children diagnosed and provided treatment later in life displayed higher rates of “emotional difficulty,” and an overall “poor” or “fair” overall outcomes (Eaves & Ho, 2008). It’s obvious that the earlier a child is diagnosed, the better the outcome, but there are other factors, such as lower symptom severity, parent participation, and higher maternal education that are associated with better outcomes as well (Mhatre, Bapat, & Udami, 2016). These critical periods of diagnosis and treatment aid in providing the child with a better grasp of verbal and social skills to improve their overall quality of life as they mature and adjust developmental trajectories.