benefits of testing

Hi all,

I glanced through previous discussions but my judgment gets clouded when it comes to my own family.

Remind me please what the benefits of formal testing are?

BRIEF background:
Me - NT female in early 30s, happily married to DH
DH - Undiagnosed Aspie male in mid 30s (relatively mild - he's functional in society and has figured out how to create his own accommodations without the need for a dx)
DD - (2.5 years old) - I'm certain she's aspie. She has been speaking in 6-7 word sentences since age 13 months and she regularly uses words like "imperative" and "shall" in grammatically correct ways. The emotional meltdowns are getting to be too much - it's simply not possible to follow her routines precisely the way she needs all day every day. I'm working on teaching her to make eye contact but that's not innate for her. She has sensory needs that I'm able to mostly accommodate for her.
DS - 3/11 (11 months old) - I'm pretty sure he's NT.

I feel like we have a good family routine set up as far as behavior modification and I'm working on nutritional needs (i.e. my daughter has had refined sugar exactly twice in her 32 months of life, I severely limit her dairy to organic yogurt, and I'm working on removing gluten but that's tough for a 2-year old; the rest of her diet is unprocessed whole grain organic - my husband is happily gluten free by choice).
I think I can handle the basics at home. But I feel like it's one step forward, three steps south east, two and half hops due west, and a running leap backwards.

Remind me the benefits/disadvantages of formal testing? At what age would you begin?

TIA!
~12db

Hi,

I can't really comment with any authority on the best ages for testing, as I was well into adulthood before finding out that I have AS. However, as I understand it, the younger a child is diagnosed, the more strategies can be put in place to help with social skills, etc. Here in the UK, if children are diagnosed early, there is a lot that can be done that has been shown to help, especially if the child is high-functioning. With hindsight, if I could have been assessed as a child, I would defintiely choose that, as I had no help and support throughout school - there is so much more that is available now.

I think as an adult, it is less clear-cut. It was important for me to know, but equally I have a friend who is happily self-diagnosed and does not need further confirmation.

Just some thoughts - hope they may be of some help.

Thank you for your feedback.

I guess at the moment, a diagnosis would be as worth as much as we make it.

Does my daughter need medications or physical assistance? No.
Does my daughter need behavior therapy? Not at this age. She's already in preschool 2 mornings a week in an environment that fosters toddler aged social-emotional growth.
Do I need support as a parent? Eh. I keep our routines as consistent as possible and tell her ahead of time what to expect while attempting to minimize sensory overload. Will someone be available to step in and assist me when she's having a meltdown? No.

Would she benefit at some point in time from a formal label? Perhaps.