What Should I Do If I Suspect My Child Might Have An Autistic Disorder, And What Materials Should I Have For The Doctor?

Question: What should I do if I suspect my child might have an autistic disorder, and what materials about my child's development should I gather for the doctor?

Answer: If you suspect that your child has an autistic disorder, first thing you should do is discuss it with the child's primary healthcare provider, whether it's your family practice doctor or whether it's a pediatrician. Voice the concerns because children at these ages have regular child visits or just make a phone call. Information that would be valuable would include developmental milestones, probably gathered from baby books, videos of the child's functioning at various ages, reports from other care givers or other family members that would give more information and would give a broader picture of how the child is functioning. But the most important thing is making sure that there is sufficient information, sufficient data, that defines the child's development and exactly what the probelm is, hopefully from several reporters.