Autism Testing

The diagnostic interview will consist of a 60-minute session. During the interview process, your provider will explore developmental history, past and current social skills, past and current school experiences, work experiences (if applicable), family history, behavioral displays, relationships, and more. This will allow for your provider to begin capturing a picture of you or your child as an individual with individual experiences. Your provider will also be able to determine language capacity for yourself or for your child, which assists in administering the most appropriate assessment module for the individual’s needs. The diagnostic interview will also allow for you or your child to develop a therapeutic rapport with your provider, working towards a comfortable assessment experience.

The Autism Diagnostic Interview- Revised, or ADI-R, is a standardized semi-structured interview utilized with parents, caregivers, or the individuals to gather information about a person’s developmental history, social interactions, communication skills, and repetitive behaviors. The ADI-R is a semi-structured interview, admistered by your provider, comprising of approximately 90 minutes. A parent, caregiver or close relative who can recount the client’s developmental milestones/history needs to be in attendance for the administration of the ADI-R to capture the most accurate representation of the client’s developmental history. If the individual being testing is a minor, they do not need to be in attendance for the administration of the ADI-R. The ADI-R is a tool that provides additional insights to a person’s development, providing additional data in the form of scores, which can be utilized to support an ADOS-2 result.

The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule Assessment – 2 (ADOS-2), is a tool utilized by clinicians to assess children, adolescents, and adults for autism spectrum disorder, (ASD). The ADOS-2 utilizes a play and conversation structure to gather information about communication skills, social skills, play skills, repetitive behavior, and restrictive behavior. It is important to note, that while the ADOS-2 is a tool to assess ASD, this tool alone cannot diagnose ASD. The ADOS is utilized alongside other tools such as assessments, rating scales, observations, etc., to ensure a comprehensive understanding of the individual. The ADOS-2 is a snapshot of skills and may not show the whole range of an individual’s strengths and difficulties. ADOS testing can range from approximately 30 to 90 minutes, depending on the individual.

During the results session, your provider will review the results of all assessments – presented in a report. The results session is a 60-minute session that may take place in person or via telehealth. If it is determined that the diagnosis of ASD is appropriate for yourself/your child, your provider will explore how/why you or your child meet criteria and will review resources in the area that may be beneficial. If it is determined that the diagnosis of ASD is not appropriate for yourself/your child, your provider will explore how/why you or your child does not meet criteria for ASD at this time.