Autism Discovery Program
When a child or teen can understand their own brain's strengths and areas of difference, they are able to make better sense of the world around them and within them.
Autism Discovery Program @ HLC Therapy Group
We are a team of neurodiversity affirming therapists working in collaboration with the neuropsychologist to
assist in identifying a child's STRENGTHS and areas of DIFFERENCE or difficulty to EMPOWER PARENTS AND CHILDREN. Given this KNOWLEDGE, parents are better informed to ask the right questions and seek out the most beneficial support to meet their child's needs.
OUR PROCESS
Pre-Visit
This involves our team collecting information to begin learning about your child and your family. We will walk you through our intake forms and other checklists that may be useful as a part of the process to understand parent perspectives.
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Home Visit
We ALWAYS include a HOME VISIT as a part of the diagnostic process in order to learn about your child in different settings and under different circumstances. A speech therapist and an occupational therapist will collect information about your child's sensory processing, communication, motor skills, and feeding skills while at the home visit.
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Clinic Visit
The next step of the process is the clinic visit. At the clinic visit, the Autism Diagnostic Observation Scale, Second Edition (ADOS-2) will be conducted to better understand your child's strengths and differences as they may relate to a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. All of the information collected by the therapists will be shared directly with the neuropsychologist. While the child is working with the therapists, the caregivers will meet with the neuropsychologist for a parent interview. Based on the Doctor's review, your child may need one or more visits with the doctor (this is common for children ages 5 and up), or the doctor may determine a teleconference is all that is needed to conclude this phase.
Feedback Meeting
This is designed to equip and empower parents with knowledge. The speech therapist, occupational therapist, and neuropsychologist will be available to a.) review any/all assessment information, b.) answer any remaining questions, c.) review an expansive list of resources our team has compiled specific for your community, child, and family needs, and d.) listen.