Child Autism Testing In White Bear Lake, MN

NOT KNOWING IF YOUR CHILD HAS AUTISM IS STRESSFUL

Watching your child struggle without understanding why or how to help can feel overwhelming. You may have tried countless strategies—interventions, reward charts, and parenting techniques—only to remain puzzled by their behaviors. Now, you might be wondering: are these challenges just part of growing up, or could something more be at play?

Do any of the following sound like your child?

  • Your child has difficulty with social conversations and maintaining friendships.

  • Your child is rigid in following rules.

  • Your child has intense and highly specific interests.

  • Your child takes things very literally.

  • Your child gets upset with certain tastes, touch, sounds, or smells.

  • Your child experiences significant distress when something unexpected occurs.

If so, you’re not alone—and I’m here to help.

IMAGINE HAVING Answers THAT HELP YOU KNOW WHAT TO DO NEXT

An accurate autism diagnosis can provide invaluable insight into your child, empowering both of you to advocate for their needs. Through a comprehensive evaluation, you’ll gain a deeper understanding of how your child learns, processes information, and experiences the world around them—including their sensory and communication needs. With this clarity, you can honor and celebrate what makes them unique, and move forward with confidence and support.

HOW IT WORKS

What Happens During Autism Testing?

Step 1: Intake (1 to 2 hours)

We will meet virtually so your psychologist can learn background information and current concerns. There is nothing you need to do to prepare for the intake, just come as you are! We will use the information from the intake session to develop an individualized testing plan.

Step 2: Testing (3 to 5 hours)

An in-person testing appointment will occur about 1 week after the intake. Your child will engage in a variety of tasks to help us learn more specific information about them. The testing appointment is sometimes broken into multiple days.

Step 3: Feedback (1 to 2 hours)

The feedback appointment occurs about 2 weeks after the testing appointment. You will have a copy of the evaluation report and your psychologist will go over the results of the testing, including any potential diagnosis, discuss specific recommendations and next steps, and answer any questions you have. You will leave this appointment with clarity and confidence about what do to next.

FAQs About Child Autism Testing

  • If your child is having social difficulties, sensory issues, self-regulation concerns and/or patterns of behavior that are causing difficulty at home or at school, a comprehensive autism evaluation can help determine if your child is autistic and provide specific information about your child’s unique strengths, difficulties, and ways of interacting with their world. Having a deeper understanding of your child will enable you to better support your child at home and allow you and your child to better advocate for what they need in other environments. 

  • White Bear Psychological Services provides autism evaluations for all ages birth through adult.

  • A neurodiversity affirming evaluation for autism is an assessment approach that recognizes and respects the diverse ways in which individuals' brains function. Instead of focusing on diagnosing deficits or disorders, it aims to identify and understand the unique strengths, challenges, and needs of the individual. This type of evaluation emphasizes a holistic view of the person, considering their social, sensory, cognitive, and emotional experiences. The goal is to provide supportive strategies and accommodations that help the individual thrive in various aspects of life, promoting their well-being and inclusion in society.

  • The initial intake interview is typically only with the parent(s) It is sometimes helpful for older children to be a part of the intake interview as well, and we can discuss this option prior to the initial appointment. During the testing appointment, your child will engage in many different activities with the examiner. The activities are brief, varied, and most children really enjoy them! For younger children parents will be present throughout the testing session and even participate in some of the tasks. For school age children, most of the testing will be with the examiner only, but the child can take breaks with their parent(s) as much as needed. 

  • When the autism evaluation is complete, the results will be compiled into a comprehensive written report documenting the results of the autism assessment, diagnostic impressions, and a summary of recommendations to support functioning at home, school, work, and the community. We will go through every page of the autism evaluation report during the feedback session, summarize key findings, discuss targeted recommendations, and answer any questions you have. With child autism evaluations, the report will offer insights into your child’s social interactions, emotions, behaviors, and cognition that are a valuable resource to help you, your child’s school, and other providers support your child in an affirming way and allow them to be fully and authentically themselves.