Childhood Autism Rating Scale

[Worried Provider]

I do not feel qualified to do this test. Our training consisted of a 15 minute video, a handout with outdated phone numbers and a coffee social. I now have a child who is exhibiting many "hallmark" signs. I had growing suspicions, overly obvious and could not ignore them. I already had the talk with the parents, gave them alot of information and websites to do their own research. It went very well I thought. Then it backfired. They want ME to pursue having this child evaluated. The Nurse at the Pediatricians office told them I would? I am hesitant as this puts all of the stress and burden on me, how did this become my responsibility?? I will gladly follow any therapy plan during the week, I love learning new things and am very attached to this child. I have this fear of what if I am wrong, what are the risks, what exactly will I be expected to do, how long, how often?

Please tell me of your experiences with this process as a Licensed Childcare Provider.

[SilverSabre25]

Hmm, how old is the child?

If he's over three, I'd bet anything the nurse said, "Get him evaluated through the school" and the parents just interpreted that to mean you. Refer them back to your state's Early Intervention program or to the local school district. Of course you shouldn't be responsible for evaluating him. If you let us know what state you're in, someone can help you find the links and information for Early Intervention in your state.

[jen]

I do not feel qualified to do this test. Our training consisted of a 15 minute video, a handout with outdated phone numbers and a coffee social. I now have a child who is exhibiting many "hallmark" signs. I had growing suspicions, overly obvious and could not ignore them. I already had the talk with the parents, gave them alot of information and websites to do their own research. It went very well I thought. Then it backfired. They want ME to pursue having this child evaluated. The Nurse at the Pediatricians office told them I would? I am hesitant as this puts all of the stress and burden on me, how did this become my responsibility?? I will gladly follow any therapy plan during the week, I love learning new things and am very attached to this child. I have this fear of what if I am wrong, what are the risks, what exactly will I be expected to do, how long, how often?

Please tell me of your experiences with this process as a Licensed Childcare Provider.

This is not your responsibility. Let the parents know that this isn't a service that you provide and that they should pursue it with their pediatrition who can refer them to an appropriate agency...which you are not.

Obviously, you want to do this in a supportive way. Something along the lines of: I know that the nurse suggested that I could assist you with this process, however, I am simply not qualified nor do I have the resources to have him/her evaluated. Please make an appointment with your pediatrition, he or she has tons of experience with these issue and can do a much better job than I can of getting little Timmy on the right track. I will do what I can to support you on this, but Timmy needs a professional with experience in this area.

[familyschoolcare]

Do not know if this is how it works in every state but here in cal. you can go to the local school district and have a child as young as 2 evaluated though them. I would call the local school district and find out then tell the family I do not offer those services but the local school district does here is there number. You could even go as far to tell the family the truth which is that you are not qualified to do that kind of evaluation but would be willing to work with any doctor or teacher etc.

[sharlan]

Just went through this with my 4 yo. He has a lot of autistic tendencies but didn't qualify for their resources because he's too advanced in other areas.

You are not qualified to make the evaluations.

Give the parents the number for the local school district. They need to call them and set up an appt for the evalutation. You cannot make the call for them.

[e.j.]

It went very well I thought. Then it backfired. They want ME to pursue having this child evaluated. The Nurse at the Pediatricians office told them I would? I am hesitant as this puts all of the stress and burden on me, how did this become my responsibility??

Getting this child evaluated is definitely not your responsibility.
At most, I would think you would be asked to provide a list of behaviors you are observing within the child care setting or you might be asked to fill out some questionnaires that rate how often you observe certain behaviors (never, sometimes, often, always) but other than that, it's not your responsibility. The pediatrician should be able to refer them to specialists like a neuropsychologist, developmental pediatrician, etc.

Depending on his age, he could be referred to Early Intervention or if older, to the school district he lives in. I haven't had any experience with EI but speaking as a parent of a "child" (he's an adult now!) with Asperger's Syndrome, I would steer clear of the school district if possible. Some school districts are better than others but from my experience and from what I gather from other's experiences nationwide, the school districts are not the best people to go to for an evaluation.

If possible, I would suggest that the parents go for a private, independent evaluation. If they have insurance, it may cover testing. (I know there was a bill out there requiring insurance to pay for evaluations for autism but I don't know if it ever got signed.) Bottom line, though, is it is the parents' responsibility to get the evaluation process rolling for their child, not you.