ASRS Test Analysis

Social/Communicative Deficits b. Restricted, repetitive behaviors, interests or activities (RRB) c. Qualitative impairment in behavior d. Both A & B ASR • The primary DSM-IV-TR diagnostic difference between autism and Asperger’s disorder is: a. Social interaction b. Language development c. Stereotyped behaviors d. Age of onset ASR • The DSM-IV-TR classifies autism related conditions as members of a group of: a. Pervasive development disorders b. Childhood Disintegrative Disorders c.

During the initial screening, the participants were given the RAADS-R by clinicians. For proper diagnosis the questions were clarified so that they were properly entered on a Likert scale. Sex did not affect whether or not a person could have autism/Asperger’s Disorder. However, it does play a part. Age does not appear to affect the

What is the name of the test? The name of this test is Autism Spectrum Rating Scales (ASRS).

Autism spectrum disorders are a class of developmental disorders that impair social skills, behavior, and communication (Center for Disease Control). ASDs are considered ‘spectrum’ disorders because each patient has a unique experience in the nature and severity of their symptoms (Center for Disease Control). Under the umbrella of ASDs, there are three types of disorders, including Autistic disorder, Asperger Syndrome, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not Otherwise Specified (Center for Disease Control). Autistic disorder is the most severe of the three, and patients exhibit significant problems with language, communication, and behavior (Center for Disease Control). Furthermore, people with Autistic disorder often have some intellectual impairment (Center for Disease Control). Asperger Syndrome is a milder form of autistic disorder where patients have some developmental delays, but their language and intellect are not affected (Center for Disease Control). The mildest of the ASDs is the pervasive developmental disorder. These patients usually don’t meet all of the criteria for autistic disorder, but do show some signs of social and communication problems (Center for Disease Control). The number of children diagnosed with ASD is growing, and currently 1 in 88 children fall somewhere on the spectrum (Mari-Bauset et al., 2013). Boys are four times more likely than girls to have autism, and while the exact cause of these disorders is unknown, both genetic and

2014). With the recent release of the DSM-V, these have all been combined under one diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder and are differentiated through the use of numerical scales to describe severity of effect. Primary diagnostic tests used are the Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder, Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS), and Gilliam Asperger’s Disorder Scale (GADS). The Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder is the only checklist or rating scale designed to evaluate children with either low or high functioning autism spectrum disorder. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale or CARS is used because it has the best psychometric support for children with low functioning autism when compared with other autism rating scales. The Gilliam Asperger’s Disorder Scale or GADS is used because it is the only scale for high functioning autistic children in the age range of early childhood to adolescence (Mayes, S. D., Calhoun, S., Murray, M., et al. 2009). Through the use of these diagnostic tools to determine the evidence of a PDD and its severity of symptomatic characteristics, a subject can be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder and classified into severity of autism.

Margaret M. Bass , Catherine A. Duchowny & Maria M. Llabre used The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and Sensory Profile (SP). Social Responsiveness Scale is a 65-item questionnaire to scale the severity of symptoms in children with ASD. This Scale contains social awareness, social motivation, social communication, and social mannerism. Sensory profile is a questionnaire with 125-item, sensory profile is for the parents of the children with autism spectrum disorder and teachers. This scale is a Likert that is from 1 to 5.

According to Simmons et al. (2009), autism is classified as a developmental disorder characterized by difficulties with social interaction, social communication, and an unusually restricted range of behaviors and interests. Along with behavioral and social impairments, a diagnosis of autism also requires a clinically significant delay in language development before the age of three. Asperger Syndrome has similar signs and symptoms to autism without the language delay. Together with Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS), these disorders form the category of Autism Spectrum Disorders (Simmons et al., 2009). Because the signs and symptoms of ASDs are almost entirely behavioral, a variety of tests, interviews, and direct or indirect observations are used in different combinations based on age and/or language level to receive the most reliable diagnosis. Although there is controversy regarding the increased prevalence of ASDs, it is obvious that there is higher regard for understanding the nature of these disorders, causing an increase of research related to this field of study. It is to be noted, however, that there are a handful of general issues to be addressed when running experiments with afflicted individuals. These issues include: which part of the autism spectrum to target, how to convey instructions and maintain attention in severely affected individuals, difficulty recruiting volunteers due to social reticence, and a change of

The purpose behind the article “Efficacy of Brief Quantitative Measures of Play for Screening for Autism Spectrum Disorders” by Rodman et al. (2010) was to use the measures from a study done by Yoder and Stone in 2006 and another study by Yoder in 2006, that had been shown to be associated with communication and language and determine if those measures could be used to validly predict an Autism Spectrum diagnosis. This study was the first of its type, by comparing the performance on these measures of children with ASD to those of typically developing children. In order to make the case of the studies importance the authors provided the readers with several facts. Such as, the need for screening measures that are quick and effective for detecting ASD with young children (Rodman et al., 2010). Other facts like, clinical judgment remaining the gold standard in diagnosing ASD being problematic in its subjectivity. Another was a statistical fact from a study done by Wiggins et al, in 2006 that identified that 24% of 115 eight year old children had not received their diagnosis of ASD until they were of school age, when

Diagnosis of Asperger’s Syndrome can be a challenge. An interview with a clinician must be conducted, including the family of the person being diagnosed. Also, an observation is conducted in two different social settings (i.e.: school and home) (Stoddart, 2009). The criterion to be diagnosed is straight forward. First, there must be a severe impairment in social interaction. For example, no eye to eye contact, posture, does not develop peer relationships, and not bringing up interests to other people (Stoddart, 2009). Second, there must be stereotyped behaviors. For example, not being able to adhere to a random routine or change of plans, hand flapping, and playing with parts of objects, not the object itself. Thirdly, the impairments cause strain on social, and other areas of functioning. Fourth, the child had no delay in speech. This is the difference between a child with autism and Asperger’s. Children with Asperger’s have no delay in speech and usually are advanced in this area. Lastly, the child has no cognitive delay. For example, self-help abilities, and adapting behaviors. Usually these children have very high IQs (Stoddart, 2009). The major criterion is the social impairment. Asperger’s Syndrome is very focused around social behaviors. These children do not socially interact,

Amazingly, one percent of new births will have some type of autism (Autism Society of America, 2010). Asperger’s disorder is one type of Autism, and is at the high end of these disorders. This “disorder, which is also called Asperger's syndrome (AS) or autistic psychopathy, belongs to a group of childhood disorders known as pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs) or autistic spectrum disorders”(Exkorn, 2006). A characteristic of this disorder is harsh and strict disruption of a certain type of brain development. The most affected areas of Asperger's disorder is difficulty in social understanding and in behavior or activities that are limited or recurring (Frey, 2003). Students with Asperser’s have different levels of seriousness,

Screening is a fast way of testing the likelihood of an individual having a particular condition and can be used to identify persons for whom more in-depth diagnostic testing may be appropriate in order to confirm the presence of a disorder. In terms of ASDs, two types of screening are currently available: broadband screens within the general population, and ASD-specific screens (Yama et al. 2012, 24). Because the former is not very effective in distinguishing ASDs from alternative development problems, the latter are the preferred screening type. Early screening allows for early detection of ASDs and for appropriate interventions to be made that aid children in improving the communication, socialization, and cognitive skills. The general consensus is that autistic children who manage to develop such skill prior to the age of five have better long-term prognoses than those who take longer (Bilszta and Bilszta 2013, 441). Research to date indicates that intervention before the age of three tends to result in the best outcomes (Scarpa et al. 2013,

There is still uncertainty in diagnosing someone with Asperger because of the similarities in high functioning autism and Asperger. According to Attwood (1998) there can be two stages to identifying Asperger. The first stage is to use a rating scale that involves both parents and teachers. There are two new rating scales one developed in Sweden and the other was developed in Australia (Attwood 1998). The second stage is to have a diagnostic assessment done by an experienced clinician in the behaviors and abilities of children with developmental disorders, using established criteria that gives a clear

Edelson of the Autism Research Institute (Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), 2015). The ATEC is a questionnaire created to be finished by parents, teachers, or caretakers. It contains of 4 categories: Speech/Language Communication (14 questions); Sociability (20 questions); Sensory/ Cognitive Awareness (18 questions); and Health/Physical/Behavior (25 questions) (Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), 2015). The ATEC is not a diagnostic form for Autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It delivers numerous results that can be used throughout treatment and evaluated on progress each participant is or is not making. Fundamentally, the lesser the total means the child is displaying lesser problems. Thus, if the child scores a 30 prior to starting the program and then 30 weeks later, the child scores a 10, the results would indicate the validity of the program. Although, if the same child scores above 30 during the post-test, this would display the results to be

The M-CHAT-R tool may be administered as part of a child wellness visit by a health care provider, or it may be used by other professionals, such as a school psychologist or counselor. The ultimate goal of the M-CHAT-R is to accurately detect as many cases of Autism Spectrum Disorder as possible in a timely manner. The statistical interpretation of the M-CHAT-R comes with a high false positive rate, so many children who score at risk will not be diagnosed with ASD. In order to address any

A scale’s discriminative validity refers to its ability to distinguish between relevant groups and the ASRS scales were found to accurately predict group membership over 92.10 percent of times. A scale’s convergent validity refers to how correlated the results of the test are with theoretically related measures. This was measured by a sample of parents and teachers completing the ASRS forms and another scale that measures ASD such as Gilliam Autism Rating Scale, Gilliam Asperger’s Disorder Scale, and Childhood Autism Rating Scale. The results of both scales were tallied, compared and all correlations were found to be significant except for the ASRS teacher’s form of CARS (Pearson, 2017).