Is it possible to diagnose a child with both autism & aphasia? child has family history of autism, numerous autism symptoms, and prior brain injury.

Aphasia: in its many forms can be difficult to diagnose if there are also symptoms of autism. A behavioral neurologist who sees kids should be able to sort this out. Unfortunately there are only a handful of us who see kids. Pediatricians who work with kids with autism and aphasia can sometimes be of great help.

Name that diagnosis: Your question is very complex as is your child. It is possible to have both diagnoses. However it would be very difficult to diagnose both separately. I am wondering if the head injury is also related. I think you need to see a pediatric development and behavior specialist to help decide what to do. The treatment for the language delays will be about the same for either cause.

Labeling issues: You need to separate out your issues.By definition, autism is an overall condition where the behaviors/deficits do not arise from a specific medical condition. The autistic child can also be aphasic and suffer brain damage, but neither the brain damage nor the aphasia cause the autism.Think of autism as a miswiring of the brain while the others are selective defects in sensitive areas.