ADOS
What is an ADOS?
At BICP, we use the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) to help assess autism.
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This tool is one of the most reliable methods for assessing evidence of autism, and can be used to identify and assess the presence of autism spectrum disorder in children of different ages and adults.
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Although the ADOS gives results and scores, it is not diagnostic for autism in itself and is used as part of a wider assessment of the child.
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Do I need to prepare my child for an ADOS?
No. There is nothing that you need to do beforehand and its important to not try and "train" a child to complete the assessment in a particular way or tell them what to say or do.
What does an ADOS involve
ADOS assessments last around an hour and involve a number of activities designed to create social situations or "presses" which allows the examiner to gather examples for how the child responds.
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It is not as simple as a right or wrong answer to the situations presented, the examiner is instead looking at how the child responds to the situation, play materials and interaction with the examiner
Is it a scary or stressful ?
Not really, most children and young people find it quite fun!
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All children are different and we do recognise that some may find the expereince of talking with a stranger difficult. We do our best to make the experience as fun as possible, however, if you think that your child may have problems compelting the test, please let us know before the assessment.
