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Impressive - On-Air Consults I Parenting I Child Psychologist

015 - Navigating an ASD Diagnosis

The Impressive podcast is back for a second season! In the first episode, Dr Kimberley O’Brien talks to Jade, whose nine-year-old son Logan is diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Jade shares the long and winding road her family embarked on to obtain an ASD diagnosis.

Dr Kimberley discovers that Logan was bothered by things like food textures and grass from a young age. As he grew older, he struggled to speak clearly and started having emotional outbursts, so Jade sent him to a speech therapist followed by an occupational therapist.

Jade reveals to Dr Kimberley that she didn’t get the results she hoped for with these therapies, so she decided to have Logan assessed for ASD. After completing an ADOS-2 assessment, including input from his psychologist and OT, Logan was diagnosed with autism.

While the diagnosis wasn’t easy, Jade tells Dr Kimberley that it was a turning point for Logan because he could obtain NDIS funding and the support he needed in school. Since then, he has been much more well-adjusted and successful. Jade now receives phone calls from Logan’s school to tell her how well he’s doing and even that he recently won a technology award.

Dr Kimberley explains that a holistic approach that involved Logan’s parents, teacher, OT and psychologist from the get-go would have benefited him and helped his family obtain a diagnosis earlier. This holistic method is how Quirky Kid approaches any ASD assessment. In addition to using evidence-based assessment tools, Quirky Kid psychologists interview important people in a child’s life to complete a full picture of their behaviour and challenges. Parents can find out more about the ASD assessment process on our website.

What you will learn in this episode:

• The challenges some families face in obtaining an ASD diagnosis
• How to have a child assessed for ASD holistically and efficiently
• How an ASD diagnosis can improve a child’s wellbeing thanks to NDIS funding and school support
• How Quirky Kid can help
Impressive - On-Air Consults I Parenting I Child Psychologist
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