This is a question that parents of children they think may have social difficulties have to ask themselves. And it is a really difficult question to answer.

The type of questions that parents ask themselves:

" Why does my child need to be diagnosed?
" How is an autism diagnosis going to affect my child in the future?
" Am I labelling my child?
" What will happen after I get my child diagnosed?
" Can the diagnosis be removed?

The route for a diagnosis starts when parents believe their children may have a social problem. The likelihood is that they will look up a set of symptoms from a doctor or from the internet and try and match the child with the different types of behavior. Once the parents are fairly sure that their child fits a certain condition, they then look for some confirmation. This is where the difficulties start, because there are very few ways to get any definite assessment without actually diagnosing the child.

If you do have an assessment done which says that your child does have a social disorder, then you are faced with the question, do you get a formal diagnosis? The way parents have their children diagnosed is typically done by a specialist or group of specialists that assess them against a set of behaviors and abilities. If the child fits a certain number of behaviors or abilities then they can be formally diagnosed as having a social disorder or syndrome.

Here are some benefits and disadvantages:

Benefits

" Once you have a diagnosis you can move on and stop guessing
" Helps parents to know how to deal with the condition
" Helps Specialists and teachers to deal with the child in the correct way

Disadvantages

" Possible label they will have forever?
" Can be used as an excuse for blaming the child (e.g. at school or with siblings)
" Is it necessary? Especially when dealing with high functioning autism
" The diagnosis is subjective and may not be accurate

Getting a diagnosis is very much a decision for the parents and should be considered in detail if the child seems to be a borderline case. The best thing to do is to face realities about your child and whether they really need help. If they do then you could be making an important step forward in getting your child diagnosed because a diagnosis will probably lead to a clear plan of development. On the other hand you must not let a diagnosis be in vain.

Give it time and avoid making hasty decisions. If you feel a sense of time running out then you probably need a diagnosis to help you move on. You must also be open minded, don't make decisions based on emotion but remain factual and clinical about it. If you can do these things then you will be making the right decision.