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The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised ( ADI-R: Lord, Rutter & Le Couteur, 1994) and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS: WPS Edition; Lord, Rutter, DiLavore & Risi, 1999) are complementary diagnostic instruments originally created for research, but now adapted for clinical purposes.
They are intended to be used by experienced clinicians; training in their use is highly recommended. For these reasons, and because of their length, they are most appropriate as part of a comprehensive evaluation within specialty clinics. A strength of both instruments is that they operationalize current DSM-IV and ICD-10 criteria and quantify separately the three domains that define autism spectrum disorders: social reciprocity, communication and restricted, repetitive behaviors and interests. This can be very helpful in increasing parents' understanding of their children's disabilities and setting goals.
The clinical version of the ADI-R takes about 90 minutes to administer and yields current scores and history. The ADOS is a standardized observation of social behavior in naturalistic and communicative contexts, with different modules and tasks for children of different ages and language levels. It yields scores that fall within a range from autism to autism spectrum disorder, and so may be particularly helpful with difficult to diagnose cases. It takes about 30-45 minutes to administer. Inter-rater and test-retest reliability as well as internal validity have been demonstrated for both instruments and they, and their previous versions, have been widely used in research and in academic centers for about 15 years.
Related links:
Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), previously known as the Autism Screening Questionnaire (ASQ)
UMACC Home Page | Diagnostic Instruments | ADOS | Contact
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Revised: Oct 19, 2001
Feedback:
um.autism@umich.edu
URL: http://www.umich.edu/~umacc/diagnostic_instruments/description.htm
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