Not Autistic or Hyperactive... then what?

I was pointed to a New York Times article called "Not autistic or hyperactive" and I was struck by how many children were diagnosed with ADHD, ADD, or Autism because of their behavior, when a simple eye exam can prove "double vision".

I worked for the past three years in an autistic program as a paraprofessional/teacher's assistant and I saw the positive and negative side effects of early intervention diagnoses when the child was not hitting their development benchmarks. There were the children that started getting therapy at as early as 1 year old, and because of that we saw great progress at the age of 6 because they got a jump on how to learn with their impairment. But then there were some children that were diagnosed with Autism, that clearly had Schizophrenia ( experienced hallucinations, had severe unexplainable temper tantrums, and anxity) but because this child also could be diagnosed with Autism (there are overlaps with Autism and Schizophrenia) the children were placed in our program and their most of needs were not met.

I see the need for early intervention, but I frequently struggle with the urgency of a diagnoses because maybe we are missing something or overlooking it for the sake of ADHD, ADD, or Autism.

your thoughts?

thanks
sarah