Dr. Sanam Hafiz

You know, we're people with licenses and doctorates and two or three decades of experiences. I've got other people in my team who've been practicing for longer than me. So I would tell them, look, we are not just giving you expert opinion with clinical discretion. We're also using standardized tests to tell you whether you're autistic.

And if you're not, what else might be going on that could mimic or look like autism? And a lot of times people are very grateful for it. And there are a lot of times that it's primarily to do with autism, where people are so married to the idea that all their difficulties stem from autism, that they're unwilling to accept what else it might be.

And if you're not, what else might be going on that could mimic or look like autism? And a lot of times people are very grateful for it. And there are a lot of times that it's primarily to do with autism, where people are so married to the idea that all their difficulties stem from autism, that they're unwilling to accept what else it might be.

And if you're not, what else might be going on that could mimic or look like autism? And a lot of times people are very grateful for it. And there are a lot of times that it's primarily to do with autism, where people are so married to the idea that all their difficulties stem from autism, that they're unwilling to accept what else it might be.

Yeah, I mean, look, some people, and let's talk about adults for a minute, they might just have certain personality traits. A lot of times I find that that's not always the only thing. They usually have a parent who also might have been on the spectrum or looked like they were on the spectrum. People who are, you know, back in the day, we would call quirky or odd or peculiar. And Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, look, some people, and let's talk about adults for a minute, they might just have certain personality traits. A lot of times I find that that's not always the only thing. They usually have a parent who also might have been on the spectrum or looked like they were on the spectrum. People who are, you know, back in the day, we would call quirky or odd or peculiar. And Yeah.

Yeah, I mean, look, some people, and let's talk about adults for a minute, they might just have certain personality traits. A lot of times I find that that's not always the only thing. They usually have a parent who also might have been on the spectrum or looked like they were on the spectrum. People who are, you know, back in the day, we would call quirky or odd or peculiar. And Yeah.

And younger children for the longest time, remember the diagnosis I said, PDD-NOS? So if there was a child who, let's say, wasn't speaking yet, or speech was a big part of the problem, and they were having temper tantrums, and someone suspected autism, but we didn't have enough information about it, we might just give them PDD-NOS.

And younger children for the longest time, remember the diagnosis I said, PDD-NOS? So if there was a child who, let's say, wasn't speaking yet, or speech was a big part of the problem, and they were having temper tantrums, and someone suspected autism, but we didn't have enough information about it, we might just give them PDD-NOS.

And younger children for the longest time, remember the diagnosis I said, PDD-NOS? So if there was a child who, let's say, wasn't speaking yet, or speech was a big part of the problem, and they were having temper tantrums, and someone suspected autism, but we didn't have enough information about it, we might just give them PDD-NOS.

So to this day, you know, now we have better tools and better understanding of autism. And if there are some other things going on, you know, very often I've put in reports and I've explained to the families that your child may have had a diagnosis of autism, but your child also is intellectually deficient.

So to this day, you know, now we have better tools and better understanding of autism. And if there are some other things going on, you know, very often I've put in reports and I've explained to the families that your child may have had a diagnosis of autism, but your child also is intellectually deficient.

So to this day, you know, now we have better tools and better understanding of autism. And if there are some other things going on, you know, very often I've put in reports and I've explained to the families that your child may have had a diagnosis of autism, but your child also is intellectually deficient.

So it's hard for us to parse out the low cognitive functioning, the low intelligence from autistic features. And so this is why we need to see him again in a year and a half. So we can, you know, it's sort of like the oil and water, it separates and you get to see the different things.

So it's hard for us to parse out the low cognitive functioning, the low intelligence from autistic features. And so this is why we need to see him again in a year and a half. So we can, you know, it's sort of like the oil and water, it separates and you get to see the different things.

So it's hard for us to parse out the low cognitive functioning, the low intelligence from autistic features. And so this is why we need to see him again in a year and a half. So we can, you know, it's sort of like the oil and water, it separates and you get to see the different things.

With older people, not children, but let's say teenagers or adults, we notice a tremendous amount of overlap in people who might have pretty severe ADHD, maybe some social emotional immaturity issues. And a lot of times anxiety or OCD. So a lot of rigidity around things can look like autism, especially if you combine it with neurological neurodivergence like ADHD.

With older people, not children, but let's say teenagers or adults, we notice a tremendous amount of overlap in people who might have pretty severe ADHD, maybe some social emotional immaturity issues. And a lot of times anxiety or OCD. So a lot of rigidity around things can look like autism, especially if you combine it with neurological neurodivergence like ADHD.

With older people, not children, but let's say teenagers or adults, we notice a tremendous amount of overlap in people who might have pretty severe ADHD, maybe some social emotional immaturity issues. And a lot of times anxiety or OCD. So a lot of rigidity around things can look like autism, especially if you combine it with neurological neurodivergence like ADHD.

Sometimes people who have severe social anxiety and can't make eye contact can appear autistic to the naked eye. Sometimes people with, you know, even mood disorder, PTSD and bipolar disorder can appear autistic if there's enough of a neurological spin to the way they present outwardly. And we do these tests, these very sensitive standardized tests like IQ testing.