Austism diagnostic observation schedule: A standardized observation of communicative and social behavior

Abstract

The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), a standardized protocol for observation of social and communicative behavior associated with autism, is described. The instrument consists of a series of structured and semistructured presses for interaction, accompanied by coding of specific target behaviors associated with particular tasks and by general ratings of the quality of behaviors. Interrater reliability for five raters exceeded weighted kappas of .55 for each item and each pair of raters for matched samples of 15 to 40 autistic and nonautistic, mildly mentally handicapped children (M IQ = 59) between the ages of 6 and 18 years. Test-retest reliability was adequate. Further analyses compared these groups to two additional samples of autistic and nonautistic subjects with normal intelligence (M IQ = 95), matched for sex and chronological age. Analyses yielded clear diagnostic differences in general ratings of social behavior, specific aspects of communication, and restricted or stereotypic behaviors and interests. Clinical guidelines for the diagnosis of autism in the draft version of ICD-10 were operationalized in terms of abnormalities on specific ADOS items. An algorithm based on these items was shown to have high reliability and discriminant validity.

The dystrophin gene and cognitive function in the general population

“…Similar to some studies which have described a sex difference in cognitive ability with a male advantage on the spatial domains, 34 our study confirmed slight, but not significant, higher scoring of males on block-design test. It is known that better performance on block-design test is associated with autistic spectrum disorder [35][36][37] and DMD is recognized as one of susceptibility genes for autism disorder. 38,39 Suppression of the global configuration to process the information in a detailed manner, essential for this test, is described as a main characteristic of autistic patients.…”

Brief Report: Attenuated Emotional Suppression of the Attentional Blink in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Another Non-Social Abnormality?

“…Individuals with ASD were diagnosed by experienced clinicians and a review of available medical records and/or assessment with the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS; Lord, et al, 1989) confirmed that all met DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Typical participants were recruited from the local community, and individually matched to within 7 points of verbal IQ (WAIS-III UK ; The Psychological Corporation, 2000) to ASD participants.…”

Illusory Memories of Emotionally Charged Words in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Further Evidence for Atypical Emotion Processing Outside the Social Domain

“…Individuals with ASD were diagnosed by experienced clinicians and a review of available records and/or assessment with the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS; Lord, et al, 1989) confirmed that all met DSM-IV (American Psychiatric Association, 2000) criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder.…”