Additional Questions to be Asked when Interviewing Teens
It is now on a weekly basis that I receive referrals to assess teens for ASDs. It is interesting to think that as early as five to ten years ago, this simple fact would be rather unbelievable. How could a child with autism grow up to become a teenager with autism, without anyone, such as parents, professionals, or teachers, knowing that they have autism? Some people might say that this could be due to higher prevalence rates of autism, a greater awareness of the variability of the disorder, and the use of the label "Asperger's disorder" possibly becoming the "trashcan diagnosis" for anyone who is rather odd or peculiar or does not fit in with the crowd.
The most important factor that needs to always be kept in mind when assessing teens for an ASD is their early childhood history. On the referrals I receive for teens to be evaluated, it may be stated that the boy or the girl does not have friends, stays in their room often, and does not want to talk with parents, among other things. These behaviors in teens are not 100% atypical and do not automatically suggest an ASD. We always need to go back and look at what this asocial and rather isolative teen was like when they were in kindergarten and early elementary school.
The information presented in this chapter is to be used in concert with all of the previously provided information and not in isolation. This information is meant to assist in obtaining a better understanding and diagnostic picture of how the social, linguistic, and behavioral difficulties consistent with autism in childhood could manifest in a teenager.
It must also be kept in mind that autism is a remitting disorder, which means that it gets better with time. This would mean that it is likely for a five-yearold boy whose eye contact is quite poor to grow into a 15-year-old teenager whose eye contact is somewhat better. These skills develop over time, even if