Is There a Blood Test for Autism?
While much knowledge has been gained about autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in recent years, there’s still a lot we don’t know about the neurodevelopmental disorder. One continuing challenge for parents and mental and physical health practitioners is that autism isn’t so straightforward to diagnose.
That’s because autism cannot be diagnosed using a simple blood test or other medical examination. Instead, ASD can only be diagnosed through observations of some of the typical signs and symptoms that display themselves.
Medical and mental health professionals rely on a wealth of guidelines and resources such as the DSM-5 to guide their diagnoses — all of which has resulted in more accurate diagnoses today than ever before.
At the same time, there are some medical professionals who are working to develop a blood test to identify autism. While these teams claim that they have promising results, they are far from definitive just yet.
Below, we’ll delve further into the top of whether there is a blood test for autism and how it is diagnosed.
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How is Autism Diagnosed?
As mentioned before, there is no blood test for autism. There also is no single medical examination that can be done that definitively shows that a person does or doesn’t have ASD.
Instead, ASD is diagnosed based on observational practices of a child’s progress on a typical developmental scale, as well as whether they display some of the common traits, signs and symptoms of autism.
Trained professionals such as behavioral pediatricians and clinical psychologists can follow standard guidelines such as the M-CHAT and DSM-5 to help them determine whether a child has autism.
At Blue Gems ABA, for instance, we have a team of clinical psychologists who follow a three-step process for all autism diagnoses. This includes a screening an initial assessment, a comprehensive evaluation, and a diagnostic conclusion and feedback.
These evaluations are based on feedback the psychologist gains from parents and caregivers, as well as in-depth observations of how the child communicates, interacts socially and more. This is a behavioral assessment of how the child acts in typical serene environments with minimal distractions.
If an ASD diagnosis is appropriate, our team will refer your child for applied behavioral analysis, or ABA therapy, which is the gold standard of treatment for people on the autism spectrum.
Learn more about how autism is diagnosed
Are Blood Tests Being Developed for Autism?
Many teams of researchers are trying to develop an easier, more direct way of diagnosing autism. Many of these teams believe that a blood test could be developed that could identify whether someone has autism with a high rate of success.
One such team is located at Boston Children’s Hospital. They have developed a blood test that could be processed by a standard diagnostic laboratory.
According to the team, the initial results were good, as they claim the test identified ASD in individuals with an 85% accuracy rate. That’s certainly promising, but the researchers themselves also are quick to admit that it’s far from certain yet.
The testing that they did was only on a very small sample size of people, so much more research and testing is necessary before it can be determined to be reliable.
What are Some Other Concerns about Blood Tests for Autism?
There are professionals in the autism world who are concerned about these blood tests. One of the top concerns they have is that the blood tests will lump people into large groups.
That’s a big problem, especially as we understand today that ASD spans a wide spectrum. No two people on the autism spectrum are the same, and there are varying degrees of severity.
It’s important to distinguish between these varying levels, too, as it plays a big role in how treatment such as ABA therapy is administered.
Some of the research teams working on the blood tests, such as the one at Boston Children’s Hospital, say they hope to be able to distinguish between the varying levels in the future — such as between classic autism, Asperger’s syndrome and unspecific pervasive developmental disorders.
Again, though, the research is still in its infancy stages, and there’s no guarantee that will ever prove successful.
Blue Gems ABA Supports Children with Autism
Diagnosing autism can be challenging because there is no single way to determine whether someone has it. There is no medical examination that can be done, nor any blood test that’s available for autism.
While some research teams are working on developing a blood test for autism, this is still in the very early stages of work.
At Blue Gems ABA, we have a team of experienced clinical psychologists who evaluate children for ASD. If appropriate, they will give an official diagnosis and refer them to ABA therapy, which is administered by our team of dedicated BCBAs.
ABA therapy is administered on a one-to-one basis, using positive reinforcement and repetition to help children with ASD build the social, communication and daily life skills with which they often struggle.
To learn more, please contact us today.
617-297-7998
617-340-3371
info@bluegemsaba.com
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