Medical History for Autism
A complete medical history will be taken along with a
physical examination to help confirm the diagnosis of
autism or to see whether there are other causes for
unusual behaviors.1 Also, the doctor will ask
questions to assess the child's strengths and weaknesses and the family's
resources.
Information from this interview will help your doctor
apply the diagnostic standards from the American Psychiatric
Association.2 These standards are the basis for
recommendations used by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the American
Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP).
The doctor
will ask questions similar to the following.
The mother's pregnancy
- How was the mother's general health during
pregnancy? Was she exposed to infection? Did she drink alcohol, smoke, or use
drugs?
- How was the child delivered, and were there problems during
delivery?
- How much did the child weigh, and did he or she have
problems after birth?
The child's communication skills
- Is the child able to speak at the same level as
others his or her age?
- Does the child ever bring parents items that
are of obvious interest or enthusiastically engage with parents to point out
objects or events?
- Without making eye contact, will the child take
a parent's hand and guide the parent to a desired object instead of asking for
it?
- Can the child follow simple commands?
- Does the
child respond to his or her name?
- Does the child have any unusual
speech patterns, such as repeating heard phrases over and over (echolalia),
pronoun reversal, or using a monotone voice?
The child's social interaction
- Is the child interested in social interaction,
or does the child distance himself or herself from others?
- Does the
child make and sustain eye contact?
- Does the child have a social
smile that he or she initiates or responds with to others' gestures?
The child's interests and unusual behaviors
- Does the child have an attachment to any
unusual objects, such as a hard, metal object, rather than a blanket or stuffed
animal?
- Does the child stare frequently?
- Has the child
ever had any seizures?
- Does the child play with toys in an unusual
manner?
- Does the child play "pretend" (if older than age
2)?
- Does the child have severe temper tantrums that can last a long
time?
Parents and siblings
- What are the parents' occupations and
education? Other resources?
- Is there a family history of mood or
anxiety problems?
- Are any other siblings
developmentally disabled in any way? Have they had
problems developing language skills?
References
Citations
Johnson CP, et al. (2007, reaffirmed 2010). American Academy of
Pediatrics clinical report: Identification and evaluation of children with
autism spectrum disorders. Pediatrics, 120(5):
1183–1215.
American Psychiatric Association (2000). Autistic
disorder. In Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th ed., text rev., pp. 70–75. Washington, DC: American
Psychiatric Association.
Credits
| By | Healthwise Staff |
| Primary Medical Reviewer | John Pope, MD - Pediatrics |
| Specialist Medical Reviewer | Fred Volkmar, MD - Child and Adolescent Psychiatry |
| Last Revised | April 3, 2012 |