Diagnosis of autism: Adequate funding is needed for assessment services

doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7433.226

BMJ 2004;328:226 (24 January), doi:10.1136/bmj.328.7433.226

Letter

Diagnosis of autism

Adequate funding is needed for assessment services

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

EDITOR—In their clinical review of the diagnosis of autismBaird et al highlight the need for a multiagency process ofassessment and supportive intervention to be made availableto all children presenting with concerning symptoms, in accordancewith the recommendations of recent national reviews.^1-3 Oneimportant additional reason for such provision, which theirreview does not emphasise, is that well coordinated, multiagencyassessment teams for autism spectrum disorders have a betterchance of accurately not giving a diagnosis of it.

Our multiagency assessment service for autism spectrum disordershas seen 57 patients in the past two years. We request baselinespeech and language therapy and (where applicable) educationalpsychology assessments on the likelihood of autism spectrumdisorder in all cases before patients are seen by our team,so as to ensure best use of clinical resources. Despite thisapproach only 26 patients (46%) deemed to be likely cases . . . [Full text of this article]

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Iain McClure, consultant child and adolescent psychiatrist

imcclure@vol.scot.nhs.uk, Acorn Centre, Vale of Leven Hospital, Alexandria, G83 0UA

Haider Mamdani, consultant community paediatrician, Roslyn McCaughey, senior speech and language therapist

Acorn Centre, Vale of Leven Hospital, Alexandria, G83 0UA