ASSESSMENT OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER
Assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is complex, requiring differential diagnosis and a multidisciplinary point of view. The assessment of children with autism typically involves the use of several avenues of information, which includes a clinical interview with parents (or caregiver), review of records, if any, home and school observations, and a comprehensive psychological evaluation of the child functioning in the following developmental domains: early speech and language skills, verbal and nonverbal cognitive ability, social and academic skills, adaptive behavior, and motor development.
Assessment of Cognitive Abilities, Language, Adaptive Behavior, Social/Emotional Development
HCC utilizes a range of instruments to help address behavioral and emotional problems, personality issues, and key social and academic skills, including quick, reliable screeners, empirically validated intervention materials, progress monitoring tools, and a multidimensional, in-depth assessment. Testing tools typically utilized to assess Autism Spectrum Disorder include the following:
Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT)
The most effective treatment currently available for autism is early educational intervention, beginning as soon as possible after a child's diagnosis. Unfortunately, intervention rarely begins before the age of three years because few autistic children are diagnosed before they reach preschool age. The Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT) is a screening instrument which identifies children aged 18 months who are at risk of having social-communication disorders. It consists of two sections: the first nine items are questions asked to the parents, and the last five items are observations made by the primary health care providers. The key items look at behaviors which, if absent at 18 months, put a child at risk for a social-communication disorder:
Childhood Autism Rating Scale Second Edition (CARS-2)
The Childhood Autism Rating Scale helps to identify children with autism and to distinguish them from developmentally disabled children who are not autistic. CARS-2 includes items drawn from five prominent systems for diagnosing autism. Each item covers a particular characteristic, ability, or behavior. After observing the child and examining relevant information from parent reports and other records, the child is rated on each item. Using a seven-point scale, the degree to which the child's behavior deviates from that of a normal child of the same age is indicated.
Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-III), for example, help measure key communication and language skills, including receptive and expressive vocabulary and basic relational concepts. The Bayley-III multi-scale battery tests 5 developmental domains of infants and toddlers: (1) social-emotional behavior, (2) adaptive behavior, (3) cognitive abilities, (4) motor, and (5) language.
Preschool Language Scale Fifth Edition (PLS-5) is a widely respected assessment tool for speech and language development of infants and preschool children. PLS-5 is frequently used to ascertain receptive and expressive language skills in infants and young children, and its two sub-scales, Auditory Comprehension and Expressive Communication, are combined to provide a total language score. The output pressures are reported both as standard scores with a mean of 100 and standard deviation of 15 and as age equivalent scores.
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition (Vineland-II)
Adaptive behavior is multidimensional (or a composite of various dimensions) and reflects the individual’s personal and social skills as he interacts with his environment. Children with ASD usually display significant adaptive deficits in several domains of functioning in communication, daily living skills, socialization, motor skills, and maladaptive behaviors.
The Vineland-II is one of the most respected assessment tools that can help diagnose and evaluate the special needs of students. The focus of Vineland-II is the measurement of the adaptive behaviors, including the ability to cope with environmental changes, to learn new everyday skills and to demonstrate independence. The Vineland-II measures the following five domains:
Motor /Sensory Assessments
HCC utilizes a range of instruments to help address behavioral and emotional problems, personality issues, and key social and academic skills, including quick, reliable screeners, empirically validated intervention materials, progress monitoring tools, and a multidimensional, in-depth assessment. Testing tools typically utilized to assess Autism Spectrum Disorder include the following:
Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT)
The most effective treatment currently available for autism is early educational intervention, beginning as soon as possible after a child's diagnosis. Unfortunately, intervention rarely begins before the age of three years because few autistic children are diagnosed before they reach preschool age. The Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT) is a screening instrument which identifies children aged 18 months who are at risk of having social-communication disorders. It consists of two sections: the first nine items are questions asked to the parents, and the last five items are observations made by the primary health care providers. The key items look at behaviors which, if absent at 18 months, put a child at risk for a social-communication disorder:
- Joint attention, including pointing to show and gaze-monitoring (for example, looking to where a parent is pointing)
- Pretend play (for example, pretending to pour water from a toy cup
- Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) Follow-Up Interview™
- CHAT (Checklist for Autism in Toddlers) Autism Screening at 18–24 months of age
- Modified CHAT Online Test
Childhood Autism Rating Scale Second Edition (CARS-2)
The Childhood Autism Rating Scale helps to identify children with autism and to distinguish them from developmentally disabled children who are not autistic. CARS-2 includes items drawn from five prominent systems for diagnosing autism. Each item covers a particular characteristic, ability, or behavior. After observing the child and examining relevant information from parent reports and other records, the child is rated on each item. Using a seven-point scale, the degree to which the child's behavior deviates from that of a normal child of the same age is indicated.
Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, Third Edition (Bayley-III), for example, help measure key communication and language skills, including receptive and expressive vocabulary and basic relational concepts. The Bayley-III multi-scale battery tests 5 developmental domains of infants and toddlers: (1) social-emotional behavior, (2) adaptive behavior, (3) cognitive abilities, (4) motor, and (5) language.
Preschool Language Scale Fifth Edition (PLS-5) is a widely respected assessment tool for speech and language development of infants and preschool children. PLS-5 is frequently used to ascertain receptive and expressive language skills in infants and young children, and its two sub-scales, Auditory Comprehension and Expressive Communication, are combined to provide a total language score. The output pressures are reported both as standard scores with a mean of 100 and standard deviation of 15 and as age equivalent scores.
Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Second Edition (Vineland-II)
Adaptive behavior is multidimensional (or a composite of various dimensions) and reflects the individual’s personal and social skills as he interacts with his environment. Children with ASD usually display significant adaptive deficits in several domains of functioning in communication, daily living skills, socialization, motor skills, and maladaptive behaviors.
The Vineland-II is one of the most respected assessment tools that can help diagnose and evaluate the special needs of students. The focus of Vineland-II is the measurement of the adaptive behaviors, including the ability to cope with environmental changes, to learn new everyday skills and to demonstrate independence. The Vineland-II measures the following five domains:
- Communication Domain evaluates the receptive, expressive, and written communication skills of the child.
- Daily Living Skills Domain measures personal behavior as well as domestic and community interaction skills.
- Socialization Domain covers play and leisure time, interpersonal relationships, and various coping skills.
- Motor Skills Domain measures both gross and fine motor skills.
- Maladaptive Behavior is an optional part of the assessment test used when measuring obvious undesirable behaviors.
Motor /Sensory Assessments
- Whether you need a quick screener or a more comprehensive evaluation, our respected motor instruments can help you address the needs of very young children. These reliable tools help evaluate sensory processing abilities as well as fine, gross, and visual motor skills.
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AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER Testing and Diagnosis:
HCC ASD evaluation is a targeted comprehensive assessment of childhood and current symptoms, designed to diagnosis (or rule out) Autism Spectrum Disorder. The evaluation usually consists of the following tests:
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Other Psychological Assessment Available at HCC:
Intelligence/Cognitive Abilities/Achievement Tests at HCC:
Personality Assessment:
Roberts Apperception Test for Children (Roberts-2)
Roberts-2 helps evaluate a child’s social understanding by using a unique free narrative storytelling format. Appropriate for children between the ages of 6 and 18, it assesses two independent dimensions: Adaptive Social Perception (development measure) and Maladaptive or Atypical Social Perception (clinical measure). The Roberts-2 can also be used to document changes as the individual grows older and more socially experienced. |
