The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule 2 (ADOS-2) is a semi-structured, standardised assessment which helps us to take an in depth look at your child’s social communication skills, their ability to use their imagination and be creative and to understand any restricted or repetitive behaviours they display. The ADOS 2 is often the last part of your child’s assessment and helps us to understand if they will meet the threshold for a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The ADOS 2 must be administered by a trained examiner and at CATS all ADOS 2 trained clinicians have significant experience of administering this assessment.
The assessment takes around 45 minutes to complete. The assessment works best when the child works alone with the examiner, this is because having parents in the room can sometimes impact on the way a child presents. If your child has significant anxiety and may not manage this let us know as we can look at how best to complete the assessment. You can reassure your child prior to the assessment that it is not a test where they have to get the ‘right’ answers, but a collection of puzzles, games and some talking which will allow the examiner to get to know them.
The ADOS 2 is a scored assessment and this is done after the appointment, for this reason the examiner is not able to let you know the outcome on the day of the appointment. The scores indicate the number of ‘autism related behaviours’ observed on the day of the assessment and do not denote the severity of a child’s difficulties. The examiner scores the assessment and writes a report which is initially sent to your lead Clinician who will then come back to you to let you know if anything further is requited or if the assessment is now complete. Your lead Clinician will send you the ADOS 2 report as part of your child’s final assessment report.
