I think my son have autism

[Maria24]

My son is 3 years old he have speech problems. he wont talk but babbles. How many test are out there to check for  autism my son had a test a ct  head scan . it was fine

[Maria24]

Thx for the response. our son is currently being evaluated by a physician.As for the problems with speech he is soon to be helped by our school district.

[mjthewriterdad]

Sorry, if you're looking for CT scans, MRI scans or blood tests or anything like that, there are none.  It's jusat good ol' observation and charting over a period of time.  There are some checklists,  I indicated in some earlier posts, but by and large, they take the agragate of observed behaviors and match the S/S with the DSM IV-TR.

[Sally44]

If you have a look at DSM IV code 299, this is the clinical diagnostic criteria for autism.  That will give you a broad, basic understanding of what the professionals are looking for.  Because it is a 'spectrum' disorder there is a huge range of how it affects any child from mild to severe.  For example under the criteria of 'rigid/restrictive routines' etc you may have one child where there is a consistant high level of rituals/routines similar to OCD and it has a huge impact on daily life at one extreme and at the other end you may have a child that occasionally hand flaps, but both children will have met the criteria under that section.  You can approach your paediatrician or nursery with your concerns and ask that he is evaluated.  Is he seeing anyone for his speech problems?