Autism testing in Colorado Springs area?

[Tim K]

My daughter (15yrs old) might be on the spectrum. I'd like to get her tested. There are a ton of providers in Colorado Springs, and I have no idea how to choose one. Any experience or feedback would be greatly appreciated.

[gnihcraes]

Children's hospital, referral from doc might be needed.

[BushMasterBoy]

UC Health probably has the most comprehensive health care system in the state right now.

https://www.uchealth.org/locations/u...rapy-services/

[JohnnyEgo]

Her pediatrician could probably do the preliminary screening and establish the appropriate care plan. But if you want the comprehensive answer, and/or screening for other issues, a neurodevelopment center is what you should be googling.

Be not surprised if the return diagnosis is ADHD, which goes way under reported in girls and has some overlapping symptoms at the shallow end of the autism spectrum. When we did the assessment for my son, it was six fairly extensive test and evaluation sessions over four weeks, and they tested for a lot of conditions.

[hollohas]

I'm up north but the one thing that helped us when we tested our daughter was the practice we used offered us the option of the med student (under the guidance of the main Dr) doing the testing instead of the Dr. It cut the cost in half. Which is huge because it's extremely expensive. Count on a couple days. They try not to push the kiddos too hard because it can mess up the results. So if the kiddo gets fatigued during testing, which can be common, they will extend to multiple days. Although our daughter was much younger (9) so it may be different for teens.

Make sure they explain what reports they will give you. You will need extensive reports in order for her to get any accomodations at school.

[.455_Hunter]

OP- If you don't mind sharing, what symptoms have you witnessed that makes you think testing is needed?

[3beansalad]

Tim, this is who helped us with our boys. I can't confirm he's still practicing, sadly.

John L. Kucera, M.D.
1304 North Academy Blvd, #209
Colorado Springs, CO 80909
tel: 719-596-1118
fax: 719-573-9774

Sent from my SM-G998U using Tapatalk

[Tim K]

OP- If you don't mind sharing, what symptoms have you witnessed that makes you think testing is needed?

I'll PM that to you. I want to protect her privacy (not that she knows any different).

Her behavior and symptoms don't fit an Autism diagnosis particularly well, but there seems to something going on. At this point, we're just trying to confirm or deny that Autism might be a possibility. If she is on the spectrum, I'd guess it's very mild if there is such a thing. What we're really after is some guidance to help her navigate high school next year.

[BushMasterBoy]

What aggravates me the most is when a MD decides you have a psychiatric (neurologic) disorder when it really is a a physical problem. Doctors in pain management recently tried to treat me with epileptic medication for pain (headaches). I finally figured out it is a fungal sinus condition. Post COVID treatment with steroids and antibiotics long term, made conditions right for a fungal infection. I see a ENT clinic tomorrow. No MD ever mentioned a fungal infection. They all basically ignored all the evidence I presented. This has been going on 30 months now...

I am not a doctor. I was trained in electronic warfare. You can see my work in Ukraine.

[JohnnyEgo]

I'll PM that to you. I want to protect her privacy (not that she knows any different).

Her behavior and symptoms don't fit an Autism diagnosis particularly well, but there seems to something going on. At this point, we're just trying to confirm or deny that Autism might be a possibility. If she is on the spectrum, I'd guess it's very mild if there is such a thing. What we're really after is some guidance to help her navigate high school next year.

It is a spectrum, and there are plenty of people who are on the mild end of it. I told my son that whatever he's got, I had it too, it just didn't have a name or diagnosis when I was in school.

My son also had peripheral vestibular disfunction (PVD) which effected his balance and motion, so he didn't learn to ride a bike until he was 10. He also had a lot of anxiety that came from not being able to hear or do things on the first few takes, and not responding to people unless he was looking at them. His school was actually pushing the autism diagnosis, but when we had him tested, he came back as having ADHD. I was surprised, because he is the opposite of hyper and about as physically active as a house plant without external motivation on my part. I was loathe to put him on medication, but he came home one day very upset with himself because he knew he needed to be focused on math but just couldn't stop thinking about Pokemon. One week on low-dose ADHD and he was noticeably happier without any other changes in his mood or behaviors. He went from failing all of his core classes to two consecutive years on the school honor roll, in middle school. He's got total control over when he takes his meds, knows what they do and their limitations, and only takes them when he needs them. Having seen what they have done for his quality of life, I am now a believer that they at least worked for him. Some of that comes from a very different structured learning style that I inflict on him - he once told his teacher that I teach math the Navy way, which is repetition and yelling. But it worked, and in conjunction with the medication, he has become much more resilient and capable of doing unpleasant and hard things when called upon.

All of which is to say whether it's autism or any other issue, there is a lot of support available and every parent wants their kid to be reasonably happy and successful. So kudos to you for trying to nail things down and set her up for success during some of the most difficult years of adolescence.