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Diagnosing autistic spectrum disorder in the age of austerity
Child: Care, Health, and Development, 06/21/2012
Karim K et al. – In the current economic climate and considering changes in guidelines there is a need to evaluate current service provision and enhance services. However, attention needs to be paid to the practical and realistic application of the suggested guidance.
Methods- Using semi-structured interviews they thematically analyse data from psychiatrists, paediatricians and educational psychologists.
- While there is some consistency across and within these groups there are also a number of variances, and several important issues are highlighted.
- These include the problem of time and resources, the issue of location for diagnosis, the value of diagnostic tools and schedules, the need for supporting information, the difficulty of multi-agency working, the relevance of a physical examination and the eventual diagnostic label.