Clinic Contact:
Phone: 608-263-3301 (8 am – 4:30 pm)
FAX: 608-265-7429
We cannot communicate through email due to privacy concerns.
Welcome
The Waisman Center Clinics provide comprehensive clinical care and support for children with developmental disabilities and their families. The Waisman Center Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic is a partnership with UW Health and the American Family Children’s Hospital. The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic is an interdisciplinary clinic that provides diagnosis and clinical care for children with or at risk for a developmental disability including: autism spectrum disorders (ASD), intellectual disability, fragile X, and genetic disorders associated with developmental delay.
Our evaluation services may include appointments with individual clinicians or a team of clinicians from the following professional disciplines: developmental pediatrics, psychology, speech-language pathology, occupational therapy, psychiatry, audiology, nutrition, nursing, and social work. Evidenced-based assessment tools are standard in our clinical care including use of the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule for individuals suspected of having an autism spectrum disorder. Additional cognitive, language, behavioral, and adaptive behavior testing is included as needed. Results are shared with families and recommendations are generated for medical, educational and behavioral intervention.
If your child has a developmental disability or your doctor suspects so, call the Waisman Center Clinics at 608.263.3301. Please indicate that you would like to arrange for an appointment in the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic. A referral from your child’s physician is required.
Although we provide a range of services, we may not provide the services you are looking for. If so, you will be contacted by one of our social workers with other referral options. While we are eager to help you and your family, the length of our wait time varies. You may want to contact your primary care physician or school about evaluation alternatives.
YOUR CLINIC VISIT
- All clinic visitors should park in stalls outlined in blue and give their license plate number to the schedulers upon check-in. (See map and directions below.)
- Our clinic is located on the first floor of the Waisman Center, 1500 Highland Avenue.
- Plan to arrive 5 to 10 minutes prior to your scheduled appointment. Check in at the clinic reception desk located just beyond the Waisman Center’s main lobby.
- A medical assistant may obtain your child’s height, weight, pulse and blood pressure. You and your child will be taken to an examination room.
- A clinician will obtain a thorough health history, discuss the evaluation and answer any questions. Visits with a developmental pediatrician may include a physical exam.
- Your child will likely participate in evaluations including informal and standardized testing of behavior, cognition, language, and motor skills.
- A family conference may be scheduled the same day or at a future appointment to provide integrated interdisciplinary recommendations at the conclusion of the diagnostic process.
- The clinics are a nut-free zone.
NOTE: Full visit information will be shared in writing with you and your child’s primary health care provider, subspecialists, and others as indicated by signed release of information forms
GOALS OF THE CLINIC TEAM
- Provide diagnosis and medical treatment for patients with autism spectrum disorders and developmental disabilities, including genetic conditions affecting neurodevelopment.
- Provide support, recommendations, and resources for patients and families experiencing ongoing challenges associated with a developmental disability.
- Support families as they work to improve their child’s feeding.
- Provide comprehensive care, evidence-based treatment, links to research opportunities and support to children with Fragile X syndrome.
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
If you are a current, future or past patient and need assistance with topics not covered here, feel free to call our Clinics at 608-263-3301, option 2, and ask for someone on the Family Navigation Team. They can call you back or MyChart you with answers to specific questions.
If you have more general resource questions, contact the Wisconsin Wayfinder at https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/wiscway/index.htm
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I am having transportation issues. What can I do?
Sometimes getting to medical appointments can be hard. If you have Wisconsin Medicaid, you might be eligible for mileage reimbursement and/or arranging rides to non-emergency medical appointments by contacting MTM Transportation: https://www.mtm-inc.net/wisconsin/ This site will walk you through the steps of setting up an account so that transportation to medical appointments can be arranged. Here is a fact sheet on this program: https://familyvoiceswi.org/resource-library/medicaid-and-non-emergency-medical-transportation/
Can I go anywhere else for an autism evaluation?
We know that the waiting list for some clinics can be lengthy, including the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic. If you are interested in exploring other programs that might be able to see your child sooner, you can contact your regional Children’s Resource Center through the Wisconsin Wayfinder: https://www.dhs.wisconsin.gov/wiscway/index.htm You can call them or send a contact form asking for alternative agencies that provide autism evaluations. Please be aware that if you go elsewhere for an evaluation, the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic will not be able to provide a re-evaluation or second opinion on the autism question.
I’m looking for a neuropsychological evaluation—do you provide this?
The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic does not provide neuropsychological evaluations. If this is what you are interested in, you will need to work with your child’s primary physician to determine who is in your health network and ask them for a referral.
We already received an autism diagnosis, can we still come to A&DD clinic?
The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic does not have the capacity to offer re-evaluations or second opinions of autism but there is a team of Developmental Behavioral Pediatric practitioners (MDs and NPs) who see some patients for challenges and questions related to a child’s autism diagnosis (e.g if a child has sleep, eating, toileting issues related to the autism diagnosis). Our team of psychologists and speech therapists do not see patients on an on-going basis—if these services are needed, our team helps the family connect with community providers.
Should I give my child their morning medications?
Yes, always give your child their regular medications. We want the patient to be able to be as productive as possible during their appointment and we know some medications help with this. Our clinic staff will ask you questions about medication and you can share how any medications may affect your child.
Why is the waitlist so long and where am I on the waitlist?
The Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic receives referrals from primary and specialty care providers across Wisconsin, Illinois, and other neighboring states. Unfortunately, there are not enough specialist providers within our clinic to meet the significant need of children and families as quickly as we would like. You can call the A&DD clinic to check on the status of your child’s referral. Because of all of the factors that affect our wait lists (patient’s age, referral question, clinician availability), it is really difficult for our team to provide accurate wait times. Any timelines given are approximates and may prove to be inaccurate.
What does an autism evaluation consist of?
An autism evaluation should be tailored to the individual being assessed. It will involve one or more visits with our team. Before the evaluation, you will receive a call from one of our family navigators who will collect some information about your child and answer any questions you have about your clinic visit. Most visits will include a thorough interview during which the clinician will collect information about your child’s development, medical history, and behavior. The clinician will likely do assessments of the child’s problem-solving skills and their independence skills, and play-based activities to evaluate communication and social skills. Additional components will be added based on clinician judgment.
Will we have the findings by the end of the appointment?
Whether or not you receive a definitive diagnosis by the end of your first appointment depends on several factors, including the age of your child, the structure of the visit, and family preference. For example, some evaluations for older children are spread out over multiple visits to accommodate the increasing complexity of children as they age. Your clinician will do their best to inform you throughout the evaluation process when you can expect to receive results. All families will receive an individualized feedback session as part of their evaluation, with a discussion around diagnosis and recommendations, as well as a written report.
Do you provide autism evaluations for adults?
Unfortunately, we do not provide diagnostic services for adults at this time. We recommend that you discuss this with your primary physician and ask them for a referral to a clinician who provides autism evaluations for adults.
How can I obtain the medical records or a copy of my child's evaluation?
A copy of your report will be available within Mychart approximately one week after your evaluation. Your providers will also mail a hard copy of the report to your home. Please check to see if your current address is updated within Mychart. If you need additional reports in the future, they should continue to be available in Mychart but you can also contact UW Health Health Information Management (HIM) at him@uhs.wisc.edu to request additional copies.
Do you provide autism therapy services? Or where do we go for autism therapy?
The A&DD clinic does not provide treatment services at this time. However, we have family navigators who can provide information regarding services and supports that may be available to your family following an evaluation. Therapy recommendations should be guided by the needs and capacity of the child and their family. There is no one treatment for every child with autism.
How do we get an appointment with your clinic? Can we self-refer?
We would strongly recommend that you have a referral sent over by your child’s primary care physician to ensure that visits are covered by insurance provider.
Hub Pages
The Autism Hub Page
Find all the Waisman Center activities related to autism, including research, training, clinics, studies, news articles, events and more.
Fragile X Syndrome & FMR1-Associated Conditions
Find all the Waisman Center activities related to Fragile X Syndrome and FMR1-Associated Conditions, including research, training, clinics, studies, news articles, events and more.
Maps, Directions, and Parking for Clinic Visitors
From the east—follow University Avenue through campus and then go off to the right on Campus Drive; stay in the right lane and turn right at the University Bay Drive/Farley Avenue intersection.
From the west—follow University Avenue and turn left at the University Bay Drive/Farley Avenue intersection. After making the turn (from either direction)... Continue straight over the hill; the road at that point becomes Highland Avenue. The Waisman Center is at the bottom of the hill on the left, across the street from UW-Children's Hospital.
PARKING: All clinic visitors should park in stalls outlined in blue and give their license plate number to the schedulers upon check-in.
ENTRANCE: Enter building in north tower at main clinics/lobby doors. Turn right and walk through lobby to clinics registration desk.