The Autism Diagnosis Observation Schedule (ADOS) is one of the most popular and valued diagnostic tools used to diagnose autism spectrum disorders.
ADOS-2is a partially structured, standardized observation protocol. The protocols consist of a series of trials that allow the observation of abnormalities characteristic of ASD in areas such as social communication, play, and restricted and repetitive behavior. It consists of five independent modules. They make it possible to study people of different ages and at different levels of language development.
ADOS-2 - protocols
In the ADOS-2 study, different protocols can be distinguished:
- Module T protocoldesigned for the examination of children aged 12-30 months, whose non-verbal mental age is at least 12 months,
- Protocol of Module 1is intended for the examination of chronological age people over 30 months with a non-verbal mental age of at least 15 months,
- Protocol of Module 2designed for the study of people of any chronological age, with a non-verbal mental age of at least 15 months and who have mastered sentence speech, but are not fluent in it,
- Protocol of Module 3designed for testing children and young adolescents using fluent speech,
- Protocol of Module 4designed for testing older adolescents and adults who speak fluent.
Modules in the ADOS-2 study - who are they for?
The T and 1 modules are intended for children who have not yet mastered the sentence speech . Sentence fashion is defined as the flexible use of spontaneous expressions.
Therefore, Modules T and 1 are tested for children who have not yet started to speak or who use single words.If your child uses phrases containing at least three words, Module 2 should be used .
In turn, Module 2 is dedicated to children of any age. The criterion that determines the selection is the linguistic criterion. This module is intended for children who use sentences, whichthey have not yet mastered the language fluently. Module 2 is designed to study children of any age, but the tasks in this module are most effective when observing the behavior of children under the age of three.
Modules 3 and 4 are designed to test people who speakfluently. Fluent speech corresponds to the level of linguistic development of a child of four or more years of age. This includes the flexible expression of various types of sentences, the use of various grammatical forms, the use of speech to inform about situations outside the immediate context.
Conducting research with ADOS-2 differs from module to module. The principles of conducting the study remain the same. Many of the items assessed after the examination have a similar or identical form in different modules. Each module contains a separate set of tasks.
Modules T, 1 and 2 require the child to follow the child to various places in the diagnostic room. Modules 3 and 4 are tested at a table. They are mainly based on an interview with the respondent.
What is ADOS-2 performed for?
The aim of the ADOS-2 study is to observe communication and social behavior . The tasks have been designed to create interesting situations in which social interactions may occur.
The ADOS-2 test does not assess cognitive skills, but proposes engaging and interesting tasks that will be able to motivate a child or an adult and encourage him to interact with a diagnostician.
When a diagnostician observes various behaviors, what is important is what the diagnostician does not do, e.g. when he deliberately waits a moment, thus giving the examined person the opportunity to interact or maintain it.
The diagnostician's task is not to "save" the interaction or make it more comfortable.
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