The Kay Center provides Psychological Assessment Services for autism, developmental disabilities, learning disability, anxiety and ADHD as well as programmatic and treatment recommendations.

If you are worried about autism or developmental disabilties, it is important to get a diagnosis as early as possible so that your child can maximally benefit from intervention services.

In general, autism can be accurately diagnosed at very young ages, but we may need to determine whether your child is at a developmental level that will allow us to tell the difference between a delay and autism.

Children may be diagnosed with ADHD as young as age 4, but it may be reasonable to wait until age 5 or 6 if symptoms are not interfering with learning or socialization. ADHD may be managed with behavioral and cognitive interventions and sometimes medication is appropriate. Dr. Kay does not prescribe medications for ADHD and though she may include it as a possible treatment option in her report, there is no pressure to start medications with young children.

Diagnostic services provided for children aged 14 months to age 14. Testing for older children with more severe disabilities or siblings of children with autism older than age 14 provided on a case by case basis. Children over age 14 may be considered if the evaluation is primarily to diagnose autism and there are concerns from parents and teachers or a family history. Many girls and higher functioning individuals with autism are not diagnosed until they are older, so this is a very appropriate type of referral. Referrals for children and teens ages 15-20 can be made if the concern is learning disability, ADHD, and/or executive functioning difficulties.

Dr. Kay does not typically see teens without developmental disabilities who have mood disorders (e.g. depression, bipolar) or severe problem behaviors. These children generally require a more long term therapeutic relationship.

She will consult with families regarding problem behaviors for children over age 14 if the child is developmentally delayed, has an intellectual disabilty or a prior diagnosis of autism. She will also consult with families of these children regarding issues around transitions to adulthood as well.