Autism Diagnostic Service

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about us

In 2023, the CDC reported the incidence of autism to be one in 36 children. Boys are 4 times more likely to be diagnosed with autism than girls. The incidence is 4% in boys and 1% in girls.

The best time to start therapy is immediately after the diagnosis of autism is made. Therapy is most effective the earlier the onset of treatment.

Early intervention in the treatment of autism can lead to gains in

Communication and language development
Social functioning
Daily living skills

In the absence of a formal diagnosis of autism, children cannot gain access to needed ABA therapy through their insurance coverage.

Unfortunately, there is currently a shortage of diagnosticians available to provide a timely diagnosis of autism. Pediatricians with an interest and further training in autism diagnosis are being asked to assist in correcting this shortage by providing earlier and more timely diagnoses.

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What to Expect

Our Service

Before Your Appointment

To schedule an appointment, complete the form below, and we will contact you.

We highly recommend that your child has a speech evaluation prior to their visit.

At Your Appointment

Please allocate an adequate amount of time for the consultation. We suggest setting aside a few hours, although the consultation may not take that long.

This visit will be conducted by a Board Certified Pediatrician and a BCBA (Board Certified Behavior Analyst).

A thorough history will be obtained at the time of the visit by a physician. History will include a review of past medical history, including the child’s birth history and behavioral, developmental, and social history. At the visit, a CARS (Childhood Autism Rating Scale) will be administered. This is an ASD-specific assessment tool.

This test is accepted by the states of Pennsylvania and New Jersey to diagnose autism.

Overall, the evaluation of social skills and behavior will take place through direct observation by the evaluators, interaction with the child, and parental history. We will be assessing speech and language skills, verbal and non-verbal communication, sensory and motor issues, as well as self-help skills.

If needed to clarify the diagnosis, an ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2) may be scheduled shortly after the initial evaluation. The ADOS-2 is a more complicated, time-consuming evaluation and could be done if the CARS is inconclusive. The ADOS-2 presents various structured and semistructured scenarios to help assess for autism.The cost of the ADOS-2 is not included in the fee for the initial evaluation.

Immediately following the evaluation, our MD/BCBA team will review the information from the interview and assessment scores and begin formulating a diagnosis.

After Your Visit

A follow up visit within one week of the evaluation will be scheduled to discuss the results. This visit will be scheduled virtually so an additional in-person visit will not be necessary. Hopefully this will minimize further inconvenience and disruption to your family’s schedule.

A written report will be issued, and a written order for ABA services will be provided if diagnostic criteria are met.

Recommendations for additional services such as occupational or speech therapy, may be made as well.

Clinical Leadership

Our Team

Mindy Rosenblum, MD, FAAP

Mindy Rosenblum, MD, is a Board Certified Pediatrician and Board Certified Pediatric Endocrinologist. Dr. Rosenblum graduated from Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.

After her internship and residency at Einstein, Dr. Rosenblum did a fellowship at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia in Pediatric Endocrinology. She has been in pediatric practice for the last forty years and recently retired from the practice of general pediatrics at Advocare Main Line Pediatrics.

Dr. Rosenblum has extensive experience with neurotypical and neurodiverse children and their families. She is continuing her medical career by focusing on the diagnosis of autism in children.

Dr. Rosenblum completed an ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2) training program and CARS2 (Childhood Autism Rating Scale-2) training program, and has been observing in the Developmental Pediatric department at Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia since retirement.

Meira Friedman, MD, FAAP

Meira Friedman, MD, FAAP is a real Philadelphia native having been raised right here in Bala Cynwyd! She received her medical degree from Jefferson Medical College of Thomas Jefferson University and did her pediatric training at Einstein. She has been Board Certified in General Pediatrics since 2003. Over the past two decades, Dr. Friedman has worked in both clinical and non-clinical settings, including private practice, in pharmaceuticals as a medical writer, in industry, and in the non-profit sector doing patient advocacy. Most recently, Dr. Friedman has been working as a hospitalist on the Main Line as part of Advocare Newborn Network. Working with patients of different ages and backgrounds over the years has allowed Dr. Friedman to learn a lot about communication, which she has found very beneficial in helping her build excellent rapport with patients and their families. Dr. Friedman has completed training in administering the CARS2 (Childhood Autism Rating Scale-2) as well as the ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2). Dr. Friedman believes every child is a world unto themselves and strives to give every patient and family the individual attention and focus they deserve.

Elke Rothstein, MS, BCBA

Elke Rothstein, MS, BCBA, has worked with children with special needs since 2015. She earned her Master of Science in Special Education with a specialization in Autism Spectrum Disorders from University of North Dakota. Elke then received her post-graduate certification in Behavior Analysis from Florida Institute of Technology and has been a Board Certified Behavior Analyst (BCBA) since 2019. She has also completed both ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2) and CARS2 (Childhood Autism Rating Scale-2) administration training courses. Throughout her career, Elke has worked with numerous clients across the autism spectrum, with many clients presenting with autism coupled with other diagnoses. This has trained her to trace presenting symptoms back to their root diagnoses, irrespective of other confounding symptoms. Elke has worked successfully in home, school, and office settings and is eager to utilize her broad knowledge of autism spectrum disorders (and love of kids!) to focus her attention on the area of autism diagnostics.

Rivky Schwartz, MS, BCBA

Rivky Schwartz, MS, BCBA, has worked with children with special needs for over a decade. She received her Master of Science in Special Education from Mercy College in 2013. She then earned her certification in Behavior Analysis from the Florida Institute of Technology. Rivky has extensive experience working with children with varying diagnoses, specifically Autism Spectrum Diagnosis, and has completed courses in administering both the CARS2 (Childhood Autism Rating Scale-2) and the ADOS-2 (Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2). She has seen clients across the spectrum, from poor social skills to non-verbal children, ranging from age two through sixteen. Rivky has implemented behavioral therapy with clients in various settings such as home, schools, clinics, summer camps, and has worked alongside many professionals over the years in the fields of Applied Behavior Analysis, Social Work, Speech Language Pathology, Occupational Therapy and Physical Therapy. Rivky’s vast knowledge and experience has given her a broad and thorough perspective which is an invaluable asset to the evaluation and diagnostic process.

Pediatric Evaluation and Diagnosis for Autism

Philadelphia | Main Line | surrounding areas