Neurodiversity

Empowered Neurodiversity

About

Autism Insights, PLLC was created with the goal of providing evidence-based psychological evaluations to enable neurodiverse children, adolescents, adults and their families reach their highest potential. Diagnostic clarity through a psychological evaluation allows access to resources that increase the individual’s ability to meet the demands of their environment and to learn to advocate to have their needs met. These resources contribute to the overall well-being of the individual and their family.

Approximately 1 in 36 children have been identified with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) according to estimates from CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network. All families deserve compassion, understanding, and support, and the diagnostic process can provide clarification that enables families to access useful supports that they deserve.

Thank you for considering partnering with Dr. Deanna Zarei towards mental and behavioral understanding of yourself, your family, or your child. She is excited to meet with and learn about you or your child’s mental health and behavioral wellness needs.

*Disclaimer: Some autistic communities have expressed a desire to use “identity-first” language (i.e. “autistic individual”) rather than “person-first” language (i.e. “person with autism"). Identity-first language is used on this website, consistent with information from the autistic community. If you prefer person-first language, please inform Dr. Zarei and she will work to incorporate your preference into the testing process.

Autism Assessment

“Different is not less.”

-Temple Grandin

Signs of Autism

“Autism is one word attempting to describe millions of different stories.”- Stuart Duncan (father of an autistic child)

“If you’ve met one person with autism, you’ve met one person with autism.” - Dr. Stephen Shore, Ed.D. (autistic individual and autism advocate)

These quotes highlight the vast diversity that exists within the autism spectrum. While there are common features that are the basis for the diagnosis, the assortment of these characteristics blend together differently for each person. The following signs, as stated in the DSM-5-TR, are features that tend to be prevalent in the majority of individuals who meet criteria for ASD:

Social Communication and Interaction

  1. Differences in social-emotional reciprocity (back-and-forth conversation, sharing of interests, initiating and responding to social interactions)

  2. Decreased nonverbal communicative behaviors (eye contact, body language, and use of gestures)

  3. Differences developing, maintaining, and understanding relationships

Restricted, Repetitive Patterns of Behavior

  1. Repetitive motor movements or speech (lining up objects, echolalia [tendency to repeat words, phrases, sentences or songs])

  2. Need to adhere to a routine (struggles to tolerate changes in routine)

  3. Intense and restricted interests

  4. Being hyper (sensitive) or hypo (less responsive) reactive to sensory input