Autism Evaluation and Treatment Services
Autism Evaluation Update
In order to meet the needs of our community and keep our waitlists open, the Center for Autism (CASD) is identifying and prioritizing key timepoints in childhood when evaluation is critical. We are focusing our limited services on making sure that children can get started with a good treatment plan and that we support them again when they need to plan for a good transition out of high school. For this reason, we are open and accepting intakes for all youth where autism is a concern but not yet confirmed. Additionally, we offer evaluations for youth in high school requiring access to supports in adulthood.
We are eager to support autistic youth and their families over the course of childhood and adolescence through consultative services. Through consultation with our autism faculty, we will partner with parents and caregivers, providers and school systems to make determinations about the need, timing and scope of re-evaluation for youth with prior diagnosis of autism.
The Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders (CASD) at Children’s National Hospital has a variety of programs and services to help care for and treat your child’s needs. Your child will have access to the latest treatments based on our cutting-edge research and our commitment to providing age-appropriate, personalized care for your child.
Our newest clinical programs include:
- Inpatient and outpatient autism consultation and training. Our Autism Behavioral Consult team educates and collaborates with nurses, doctors and other care providers to help them understand the unique needs of children with ASD while in the hospital or medical setting.
- Telehealth. We use telecommunications and information technology to provide real-time, two-way communications between medical experts and families. This service makes specialized CASD therapies available to children and families no matter where they live.
- Toddler and preschool rapid assessments. Depending on your child’s needs, we provide a streamlined option that combines evaluation for two specialties at once. This includes a psychology/speech and language assessment or a psychology/developmental pediatrics assessment.
Evaluations
Currently, the Center for Autism Spectrum Disorders is only accepting new requests/intakes for autism evaluation for children under the age of 6 years.
Children's National offers evaluations for children ages 15 months through young adulthood. The evaluation process may include a series of appointments or a single visit. The type of evaluation needed is determined patient-by-patient but may include:
- Diagnostic interview and review of medical and developmental history
- Neuropsychological or developmental evaluation, which may include assessment of intellectual ability, language, visual-spatial skills, attention, executive functioning, memory, fine motor skills, social functioning, adaptive behavior and/or academic achievement
- Comprehensive speech/language assessment of verbal and nonverbal communication skills
- Standardized diagnostic play/interview session
- Physical examination
Based on our findings, team members meet with the family to discuss diagnosis, prognosis and recommendations for school placement, behavioral intervention and adjunct services. A written report with recommendations for academic and therapeutic interventions is also provided. Based on parental preference, we can consult with the child’s school by attending school meetings and assisting with the development and implementation of educational plans.
Treatment and Support Services
We offer a limited range of treatment and support services for children and adolescents with ASD and their families, addressing executive function, transition to adulthood. Services are provided by multiple disciplines and can include individual therapy, family therapy, group therapy, brief consultations and psychiatric services.
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