What To Do While Waiting For Your Child’s Autism Evaluation
There may come a time when you finally decide to have your child evaluated for autism. Perhaps a teacher or pediatrician brought up their suspicions. Maybe you have been wondering about it yourself. Regardless of how you got there, the time comes for you to reach out to schedule the evaluation. You might be feeling anxious, ready for the next step - only to be told that now you have to wait.
Unfortunately, long waitlists for autism evaluations have become a common experience for families. Waiting can feel frustrating when you’re ready for answers, like valuable time is being wasted. A diagnosis is often required to open doors to many autism-related services, but that doesn't mean you have to sit idly marking the days off the calendar. There are things you can do while you wait that can be productive and helpful so you can avoid feeling stuck in limbo.
Take Notes
Part of an autism diagnosis includes gathering information from parents, teachers, and other caregivers who spend a lot of time around your child. It can be helpful to start making notes to bring to the evaluation with you. Things to keep track of may include:
There’s no need to keep an exhaustive list of every move your child makes, but things like avoiding certain foods, discomfort with loud noises, or difficulty moving from one activity to the next would be helpful to jot down.
Chat With Others In Your Child’s Life
Take time to have conversations with other people who spend time around your child. This may be teachers, daycare workers, doctors, or other family members and caregivers. Ask what they see when they are with them, making note of what you’re hearing. Different environments can highlight different challenges and strengths, which can be important information when it comes to the evaluation.
Seek Out Available Support
Some services and supports may be available based on your child's individual needs without requiring an autism diagnosis. School-based evaluations and subsequent supports are separate from a medical diagnosis, so your child’s school may be able to offer support now instead of waiting. Focus on the more pressing concerns, whether that be speech, communication, sensory, motor skills, or something else entirely. Reach out to school staff or your child's pediatrician to find resources that don’t require a diagnosis to engage in.
Try Supportive Strategies At Home
Many strategies commonly used to support autistic children can be helpful for other children, too. If you can name certain challenges on your own, there’s no need to wait for an official confirmation to get started on trying to understand and implement things that can help. Create visual schedules and give advance notice to make transitions easier, implement a predictable routine in their life, or shift your communication style with them to match what seems to work well for them. Consider trying different sensory tools, and creating a sensory-friendly quiet area in your home for a calming place to unwind. Once you recognize their struggles and strengths, it will be easier to discover the things that help them regulate better.
Do Your Research - But Use Caution
With an endless pool of information at our fingertips, it’s tempting to take to the internet to do your own research. And you should - with caution. Resist the temptation to Google every behavior or fall into the rabbit hole of TikTok diagnosis. Look for reputable resources, including information from qualified professionals and perspectives from autistic people and families with lived experience, while also remembering that every individual is unique, even with the same blanket diagnosis.
Prep Your Questions
Your brain will likely keep you occupied with a never-ending list of questions, concerns, and “what now?” scenarios. How will the assessment go? What happens after? Will you be offered services? What does that look like? What does my child need? This is normal! Instead of letting these thoughts run a nonstop loop, take them out of your brain and put them on paper. Keep a running list of questions you want to ask during the evaluation and don’t forget to bring it along. Chances are many of those questions will be answered without you asking, but you’ll feel prepared just in case they aren’t.
Just Enjoy Your Child
An autism diagnosis is an important step for your child, a step toward accessing services that will help your child thrive. It can give you more information about how they experience the world so you can better understand and support their needs. But a diagnosis doesn’t tell you who your kid is - you already know that. So while you wait for the assessment, be sure to continue to just enjoy them. Engage in their interests, play with them, notice their strengths, and let them be a kid. Through their childhood, you will be their protector, their advocate, their voice until they’ve found their own, however that looks. Sometimes, it’s okay to take a pause and simply be their parent - for both of you.
Looking Ahead
Waiting for an autism evaluation feels like hitting the pause button on any forward momentum. Remember that not every answer has to come immediately. Use the time you’re waiting to continue learning about your child, finding ways to support their needs in the moment, and gathering information that can help guide you once the evaluation finally comes. Your child is the same child you see today, diagnosis or not, so there’s no need to halt life until you have confirmation.
If your child does receive an autism diagnosis, Bloom Behavioral Healthcare would be happy to help you navigate the next steps. Our team is here to answer questions about ABA therapy, help you navigate insurance requirements, and work with you to develop an individualized treatment plan based on your child’s unique strengths, challenges, and goals. You’ve taken an important first step by seeking answers. And while we may not be able to shorten your wait time, we can be here to help make the next steps feel less overwhelming. When that day comes, contact Bloom to learn how we can help.
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