A Guide for Provisional Psychologists: The Role of a Multidisciplinary Team in Autism Diagnosis
Sep 18, 2023
As a provisional psychologist, your journey in the field of autism diagnosis is both exciting and challenging. Understanding the importance of a multidisciplinary approach and being aware of the resources available can greatly enhance your ability to contribute effectively to the diagnosis process. In this blog post, we will explore the significance of a multidisciplinary team in autism diagnosis and highlight the value of guidelines and resources specifically tailored to your role. We will provide insights and links to relevant resources such as the Autism Guidelines.
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The Power of Collaboration: Multidisciplinary Teams
Autism diagnosis is a complex endeavour that requires the expertise of professionals from various disciplines. As a provisional psychologist, working within a multidisciplinary team provides you with a unique opportunity to learn from and collaborate with professionals such as psychologists, psychiatrists, and peadiatricians. Each team member brings a different perspective, enabling a holistic evaluation of the individual's cognitive, behavioural, and social profile.
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The Need for Supervision and Specialised Training
While working within a multidisciplinary team, it is essential to recognise the importance of supervision. Supervision ensures that your contributions align with best practices and ethical standards. Additionally, acquiring specialised training in autism assessment equips you with the necessary skills and knowledge to conduct accurate evaluations. Seek out training programs and workshops that focus on autism spectrum disorders to enhance your diagnostic abilities.
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Specialisation: Knowing Your Role
In the realm of autism diagnosis, specialised knowledge is key. While provisional psychologists can play an important part in the evaluation process, it is crucial to understand that single clinician diagnoses should be reserved for specialists with extensive experience and expertise in this area. Collaborating with professionals who have specialised knowledge, such as peadiatricians, psychiatrists, or psychologists specialising in ASD, ensures accurate assessments and comprehensive care for individuals with autism.
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Unleashing the Power of Guidelines and Resources
Often, provisional psychologists are unaware of the existence of valuable guidelines and resources specifically developed for autism diagnosis. Familiarising yourself with these resources can significantly enhance your diagnostic skills. The Autism Guidelines and the recently developed ADHD clinical guideline are excellent starting points. These guidelines offer evidence-based recommendations, standardised assessment protocols, and intervention strategies, serving as indispensable tools for provisional psychologists.
- Ensure you and your organisation are offering neuro affirming services
The neurodiversity paradigm recognises the value of a rich diverse population. Being a neuro affirming psychologist means recognising, embracing and valuing the unique strengths and perspectives of neurodivergent individuals, such as Autistic people. This approach is in direct contrast to deficits-based approach which focuses on “fixing” the impairments associated with neurodevelopmental conditions. This approach aligns with the social model of disability which recognises that it is the societal barriers and attitudes that can restrict participation or exacerbate impairment. One of the best ways to know if you and the practice you work for are providing a neuro-affirming practice is seeking input and guidance from people (e.g. consumers and researchers) who have lived experience. Some examples of things you might do when providing a neuro affirming service include:
- Use neurodiversity affirming language
- Seek to understand the needs of neurodivergent people from their perspective.
- Identify and support individuals and families to address structural and attitudinal barriers.
- Understanding and respecting different communication styles and sensory needs.
- Promote self-understanding of own functioning and unique ways of processing information and sensation which might include the use of safe self-regulation skills (e.g. stimming, movement)
- Look at ways to adapt the environment to meet the person's needs including the need for safe spaces.
- Empower self-determination, participation, and self-advocacy.
- Validate all feelings.
- Recognise that behind every behaviour, is an emotion and behind every emotion is a need. Seek to provide interventions that focus on meeting the needs of the individual.
- Authentic strengths based practice rather than focusing on remediating deficits.
6. Practicing inside your scope of practice.
The Code of Ethics (2007) states that "Psychologists only provide psychological services within the boundaries of their professional competence". This means self-evaluating if you have the sufficient skills, training and experience to perform certain tasks and or work with certain presentations. When deciding on your scope of practice, consider relevant training you have engaged in, support available to you as you learn and grow your skills (e.g. supervision), and review any relevant guidelines. If a professional or ethical dilemma related to your scope of practice arises, discuss with your supervisor.
Conclusion: As a provisional psychologist, your role within a multidisciplinary team is critical in the autism diagnosis process. By embracing supervision, seeking specialised training, and collaborating with specialists, you can contribute effectively to accurate evaluations and interventions. Make use of the available resources such as the Autism Guidelines and the ADHD clinical guideline to ensure that your assessments align with evidence-based practices. Through your dedication and continuous learning, you have the power to positively impact the lives of individuals with autism spectrum disorder.
Check out our Professional Development Autism Spectrum Disorder Mini-Series
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References:
- Autism Guidelines: Link to the Autism Guidelines
Additional external resources:
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