When we talk to parents of kids on the autism spectrum, we hear over and over that autism wasn’t the first diagnosis. First they were told he or she had ADHD, or sensory processing problems, or both, and the autism diagnosis came some years later.

These delays in diagnosis are significant, since they can cause kids to miss out on early social skills training that has been shown to be crucial for their development.

Read more on the American example at

http://www.childmind.org/en/posts/articles/2015-11-10-autism-diagnosis-delayed-adhd-sensory-processing

當我們與患泛自閉症障礙兒童的家長談話時,發現很多自閉症都不是在第一次診斷時就能確認。開始時,他們可能會被診斷爲專注力不足過度活躍症或感官處理問題,又或者是同時患有這兩樣症狀,而最後經過幾年,才被確診爲自閉症。

這些確診的延誤很值得關注,因為它們會導致這些兒童錯過幼兒期的社交技巧訓練,嚴重影響他們日後的發展。

想閱讀更多美國的例子,請參閱:

http://www.childmind.org/en/posts/articles/2015-11-10-autism-diagnosis-delayed-adhd-sensory-processing