Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
Diagnostic Evaluation
Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder or ASD experience challenges in communication, social interaction, and present atypical behaviors that impact their autonomy and social adaptation. These manifestations vary widely from one child to another and change over time. Some features may also overlap with other conditions (developmental delays, language disorders, intellectual disability, psychosis, etc.).
A comprehensive psychological and neuropsychological evaluation helps establish a differential diagnosis, rule out other disorders, and identify the child’s specific needs. Early and appropriate intervention significantly improves outcomes.
FAQ
Home > Services > Teen & Child > Assessments > Neurodevelopmental Disorders > Autism
-
The assessment draws on previous reports (if available), clinical observations made during the sessions, and a battery of standardized tests administered in the office, both in written and digital formats. Together, these elements provide a detailed, nuanced, and objective understanding of the child’s mental functioning.
-
The first appointment is usually held with both parents present, without the child. It focuses on an in‑depth discussion of the child’s history, current difficulties, and the parents’ expectations.
This interview aims to:
Determine whether a diagnostic evaluation is appropriate.
Clarify the assessment protocol (tests selected based on the information gathered beforehand).
Explain the full evaluation process (number of sessions, duration, report, and feedback session).
Address any questions the parents may have.
Establish a trusting environment, which is essential for minimizing the impact of anxiety on test performance.
-
It enables the clinician to:
Establish a reliable differential diagnosis.
Gain an in-depth understanding of the child’s mental functioning and its impact on daily life.
Provide tailored recommendations and accommodations for daily life, both at home and at school.
Recommend appropriate interventions such as cognitive remediation, neuropsychological rehabilitation, orthoptics, speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, or psychotherapy.
-
Cognitive domains assessed:
Social functions:
Social Perception: identification of facial expressions
Social Cognition: empathy, bias attribution, decision-making, understanding social norms, theory of mind
Social Skills: moral judgment, verbal and nonverbal communication
Intellectual abilities: logical, conceptual, and quantitative reasoning.
Attentional functions: selective and sustained attention.
Executive functions: cognitive inhibition, cognitive flexibility, working memory, planning.
Memory functions: short- and long-term memory.
Visuospatial functions: visuoperceptive and visuospatial abilities in 2D and 3D.
Language functions: receptive and expressive language.
Sensorimotor functions: lateralization, motor control and programming, sensorimotor coordination.
Learning domains assessed:
Written Language: reading skills (including phonological and visual processing, word recognition, vocabulary, morphosyntactic understanding, and reading fluency) and writing/transcription skills (phonological and visual processing, as well as phonetic, lexical, linguistic, and morphological spelling).
Number Sense and Math Skills: counting and quantity concepts, understanding of the numerical system (including analog, visual, and verbal codes, and transcoding), and arithmetic operations and calculations.
Adaptive domains assessed:
Communication
Daily living
Socialization
Psycho-affective domains assessed:
Emotional state: assessment of anxiety and/or depressive symptoms.
Personality: assessment of personality organization, including pathological aspects, and identification of any underlying psychological vulnerabilities.
Autism: analysis of autism-related behaviors, language, communication, and social interactions; autism risk level; autism severity level.