top of page

Are you are concerned and find yourself obsessing about what your baby is or is not doing?


Please contact us and we will help you EASE your mind through our Early Autism Screening Evaluation program.

Early
Autism
Screening
Evaluation

In keeping with the Centers for Disease Control's recent campaign to raise awareness of childhood development, "Learn the Signs. Act Early" asks that we identify developmental disorders early so we can provide the intervention necessary to improve the chances of success for each child. www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly

​

  • There is accumulating evidence that children on the autism spectrum can be diagnosed within the first year of life.

  • There is strong evidence that appropriate early intervention can have a positive impact on a child's health growth and development.

  • So, if you have any concerns about your infant child's development or behavior, please contact us and we will help you to put your concerns into perspective and help to make sure your child gets the appropriate intervention to assure a positive developmental trajectory.

What to Expect during the evaluation:

Research strongly supports early intervention as a key to improving the outcomes and assuring success for children who may be at-risk. With appropriate supports and therapies, characteristics of autism spectrum conditions may be minimized or prevented.

​

EASE is a comprehensive developmental evaluation for infants, toddlers, and pre-school age children (6 months to 4 years old) which offers screening for characteristics of autism spectrum conditions and other neurodevelopmental conditions.

​

We will spend time asking you questions about your child's medical and developmental history and we will have you complete some questionnaires that will give us some ideas about your child's development and behavior. We will find out about the pregnancy, birth, developmental and behavioral patterns, general health and medical conditions as well as environmental factors. We will observe your child in free-play and in some structured interactions and then perform a physical and neurological examination.

​

By the end of your visit we will have a reasonable developmental profile of your child and we can determine what your child needs to make progress. We will give you specific recommendations and referrals and also offer continued open communication towards coordination of care, family support, and of course we will keep track of progress to make sure your child is healthy, happy and successful at school.

SYMPTOMS THAT COULD BE CAUSE FOR CONCERN:

BEFORE 6 MONTHS

  • Difficulty with sucking/swallowing

  • Unusual reaction to being held (arches back, avoids eye contact, becomes distressed)

  • Seems to need to be held more or less than other infant

AT 6 MONTHS

  • Seldom makes eye contact with parents during interaction

  • Not cooing or babbling

  • Inconsistently smiling when parents smile

  • Not participating in vocal turn-taking (parent makes a sound, baby tries to imitate)

  • Not responding to "peekaboo" games

  • Unusual variation in "4-point crawl" ("combat crawl", "elephant walk", "bottom scooting", "3-point crawl")

AT 14 MONTHS

  • Not following standard developmental speech milestones

  • Minimal and/or inconsistent response when name is called

  • Does not appear to be interested in interacting with others

  • Exhibits repetitive movements that seem to be unusual and seem to persist longer than usual(rocking, hand-flapping, spinning)

  • Unusual reaction/oversensitivity to certain sounds, smells, textures, tastes, sensations

  • Not pointing, waving or grasping

  • Prefers routine and predictability and appears to have more dramatic reaction than usual to change, transition, something different

  • Delay in speech development, lack of progress in speech development, or regression in ability to use language previously acquired

AT 18-24 MONTHS

  • Does not imitate 2-word phrases (does not just "echo" words)

  • Tendency to repeat words or phrases without communicative intent

  • "Dialoging", i.e. repeating extended dialogue from movies or television programs, without communicative intent

  • Any loss of language or developmental skills

  • Dramatic emotional reaction seemingly out of proportion to situation

  • Self-injurious behaviors (head-banging, biting, scratching, hitting self)

If you are interested in learning more about this personal service, or in scheduling an evaluation, please contact our office.

Email or Call: 404 303 7247 and talk to our Practice Manager

bottom of page