1st Annual Autism Symposium

“Autism is Autism…or is it?” – The phrase “if you’ve met one person with Autism, you’ve met one person with Autism” is quite accurate. According to the DSM-5-TR, the diagnosis of Autism is to be made when a particular cluster of symptoms are present and impede functioning in social, educational, occupational, and other areas of functioning. The critical behaviors are the ability to communicate effectively and appropriately, interact with others socially, and the presence of restrictive/repetitive behaviors related to sensory processing, sameness/routines, repetitive actions, and fixated interests. In addition to diagnostic criteria, there are specifiers, associated features, and comorbid conditions that can impact the functioning of the individual. This would also be the reason why everyone given a diagnosis of ASD should receive a comprehensive evaluation to identify their unique strengths and weaknesses. Our current diagnosis-driven healthcare system threatens the individual’s ability to understand their diagnosis, associated features, and comorbid conditions to better benefit on understanding their strengths while minimizing/accommodating the areas that pose the most challenge. In the current talk, I will explain the importance of a comprehensive evaluation for allowing the person with Autism to achieve their highest level of functioning. I will also discuss how the comprehensive evaluation results can help us understand more about the diagnosis, make better predictions about the individual’s future functioning, and create tailored interventions for all ages.