I thought some of you might be interested in what the "skeleton" of an educational ASD assessment should look like. This one is far from perfect, it does not even have templates for descriptions of all of the tests listed, but it should give you a good idea what to look for if you are thinking of having your child assessed, or if your child is having an assessment and you need ASD testing in the assessment report.
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Summary Report
Student: Birthdate:
School: Grade:
Evaluators: Report Date:
Purpose for ASD Assessment
The purpose of this assessment was to explore the possibility of an educational label of Autism Spectrum Disorder through systematic observations and interviews, review of behavioral assessment checklists including developmental history, and review of the state criteria of educational autism spectrum disorder.
Educational Evaluation Information
Gilliam Autism rating Scale (GARS)
Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS)
Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale (ASDS)
Review of Educational Records
Review of Developmental History
Systematic Classroom Observations and Interactions
Teacher, Student & Parent Interviews
Developmental History and Background Information
A review of _______________’s educational file was completed to review documentation of early developmental history.
Evaluation Results and Present Levels of Performance
Systematic Observations:
___________ was observed in his ___ classroom, during…..
Informal interview:
I interviewed ------ to gain insight about his understanding of friendships, relationships, social rules and social perspectives. . I used a double interview format: after interviewing --------, I asked him to interview me. This part of the test was designed to help assess -------’s ability to switch roles and perspective, by asking me pertinent questions and being able to formulate questions that would allow him to gain important information about me.
Conversational Survey :
–Information about -------’s language and ability to communicate was gathered during the interview, and also during unstructured conversation with him.
Gilliam Asperger’s Disorder Scale (GADS)
The GADS was completed by ______________’s teacher and his parents.
The GADS is a standardized instrument designed for assessment of persons with Asperger’s disorder and other behavioral disorders. It consists of thirty-two clearly stated items divided in four subscales: Social Interaction, Restricted Patterns of Behavior, Cognitive Patterns, and Pragmatic Skills. Items are based on the most current definitions of Asperger’s Disorder. A person familiar with the student answers questions about the student’s behaviors. Standardized scores and percentile ranks are provided, comparing this student’s scores with the scores of other students diagnosed with Asperger’s. A table is provided for determining the likelihood that a person has Asperger’s disorder.
Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GARS):
The GARS was completed by ___________’s classroom teacher and his parents. The GARS is a behavioral checklist that helps identify persons with an autism spectrum disorder. The checklist addresses behavioral characteristics related to autism across four areas. These areas include stereotyped behaviors, communication, social interaction, and developmental disturbances. Scores from he GARS are estimates of the likelihood that the individual is autistic. Subtest standard scores of 8 to 12 or Autism Quotients f 90 to 110 are within the average range for subjects with autism and indicative of autism. Percentile ranks are based on a normative sample of individuals with autism. For example, if a score falls at the 63rd percentile, this indicates that 63% of the subjects in the normative sample fall below that score and demonstrate fewer characteristics of autism.
The results of the GARS completed by _______’s teacher are reported below:
Subtest Standard Score Percentile Probability of autism
Stereotyped Behaviors
Communication
Social Interaction
Autism Quotient
The results of the GARS completed by ___________’s parents are reported below:
Subtest Standard Score Percentile Probability of autism
Stereotyped Behaviors
Communication
Social Interaction
Developmental Disturbances
Autism Quotient
According to the results of the GARS his teacher’s ratings indicate fewer/similar behaviors typical of autism across all areas measured on the GARS. The Autism quotient is based on the symptomatic behaviors of autism across all subtests and is the best estimate of any individual’s behavior.
Observations based on the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS)
The ADOS is a semi-structured, standardized assessment of communication, social interaction and play and imaginative use of materials. The assessment consists of activities that allow the examiner to observe behaviors that have been identified as important to the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders. Structured social interactions are created in which a behavior or a particular type of social response is likely to occur. The overall ratings for the ADOS are organized into five main groups: Language and Communication; Reciprocal Social Interaction; Play; Stereotyped Behaviors and Restricted Interests; Other abnormal behaviors. Scores range from 0 (not abnormal behavior) through 2 or 3 (most abnormal) for each aspect of measured behaviors. Cut-off ratings are as follows:
Module 1
Communication
Autism cut-off = 4; autism spectrum cut-off = 2
Reciprocal Social Interaction
Autism cut-off = 7; autism spectrum cut-off = 4
Communication and Social Interaction
Autism cut-off = 12; autism spectrum cut-off = 7
OR
This assessment tool included structured activities that serve as social presses to elicit typical social responses from the student. These social presses include joint interactive play, reciprocal social communication, use of descriptive non-verbal gestures, social response, and facial expressions directed to others. __________ willingly joined he examiners to participate in this session.
Application of Criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorders
Autism Spectrum Disorders, as defined in the state criteria, means a developmental disability significantly affecting verbal and non-verbal communication and social interaction with onset generally evident before age three. This disability adversely interferes with educational performance. It is behaviorally defined and characterized by an uneven developmental profile and disturbances in interaction, communication and perceptual organization. Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders include irregularities and impairments in communication and social interaction, engagement in repetitive activities and stereotyped movement, resistance to environmental change or changes in daily routines and unusual responses to sensory experiences. Autism occurs in a continuum from mild to severe and can occur by itself or in association with other disorders.
The multidisciplinary team shall determine that a pupil is eligible and in need of special education instruction and related services if the student demonstrates patterns of behavior consistent with those in item A and fulfills the requirements in item B. In order to qualify for services, the student must fulfill requirements in both items A and B.
A. An educational evaluation must address all three core features listed below. For eligibility purposes, a student must demonstrate the specific patterns of behavior in Core Feature 1 as well as the patterns of behavior in Core Feature 2 and/or Core Feature 3.
Core Feature 1: Qualitative impairment in social interaction as by two or more behavioral indicators, such as:
__ limited joint attention and limited use of facial expressions directed toward others
__ does not show or bring things to others to indicate an interest in the activity
__ demonstrates difficulties in relating to people, objects or events
__ a gross impairment in the ability to make and keep friends
__ significant vulnerability and safety issues due to social naivete
__ may appear to prefer isolated and solitary activities
__ misinterprets others’ behaviors and social cues
Core Feature 2: Qualitative impairment in communication, as documented by one or more behavior indicators, such as:
__ not using finger to point or request
__ using others’ hand or body as a tool
__ showing lack of spontaneous imitation or lack of varied imaginative play
__ absence or delay of spoken language
__ limited understanding and use of non-verbal communication skills such as gestures, facial expressions or voice tone
__ odd production of speech including intonation, volume, rhythm or rate
__ inability to initiate or maintain conversation when speech is present
Core Feature 3: Restrictive, repetitive, or stereotyped patterns of behavior, interest and activities, as documented by one or more behavior indicators such as:
__ insistence on following routines or rituals
__ demonstrating distress or resistance to changes in activity
__ repetitive hand or finger mannerism
__ lack of true imaginative play versus reenactment
__ overreaction or under-reaction to sensory stimuli
__ rigid or rule-bound thinking
__ an intense, focused preoccupation with a limited range of play, interests, or conversation topics
B. The team shall verify that an autism spectrum disorder adversely affects a student’s present educational level of performance and identifies the student’s needs. Documentation must be supported by data from each of the following components:
1. Identify the student’s present levels of performance and educational needs in each core feature identified by the team in item A above. Core feature 1 must be included if eligibility is to be met. In addition, the evaluation process must give consideration to all other areas of educational concerns consistent with the IEP process.
Documentation used to determine behavior and needs in Core Feature 1(Reciprocal Social Interaction):
Present Levels of Performance in Core Feature 1:
Current Educational needs in Core Feature 1:
And
Documentation used to determine behavior and needs in Core Feature 2(Communication):
Present Levels of Performance in Core Feature 2:
Current Educational needs in Core Feature 2:
And/or
Documentation used to determine behavior and needs in Core Feature 3(behavior, interest, activities):
Present Levels of Performance in Core Feature 3:
Current Educational needs in Core Feature 3:
2. _____________’s need for instruction and services is documented and supported by evaluation and observations in two settings, on different days.
3. A developmental history is included which summarizes developmental information and behavior patterns. See Developmental History section on the first page of this report for a summary.
Conclusions:
According to the MN Criteria for the identification of Educational Autism Spectrum Disorders, _______ meets the criteria in at least two of the three core features presented above, one which must be Core Feature 1. The core features identified include:
__ Core Feature 1: Qualitative impairment of reciprocal social interaction (two or more indicators)
and
__ Core Feature 2: Qualitative impairment in communication (one or more indicators)
and/or
__ Core Feature 3: Restricted, repetitive or stereotyped patterns of behaviors, interests or activities (one or more indicators)
Based on this initial evaluation, it is the opinion of the team that _____________ meets the educational criteria of Autism Spectrum Disorders and is eligible to receive special education services under the Autism Spectrum Disorders category.
Adamsmom, I don't think these tests need to be done once a child has qualified for services. There is a Test of Pragmatic Language (TOPL) but often high functioning kids with ASD do pretty well on it, so those results may be inconclusive. I see plenty of kids who do have trouble with pragmatic language still do OK on that test. Do you suspect a learning disability? In order to properly advise you about tests I would think are appropriate, I would probably want more specific information. So- if you want you can PM me and be direct about your concerns, and also the types of services you want to make sure your son gets for the next three years. I should be able to give you a list of test names.
Thanks for sharing that. My son is just starting the evaluation process, and I'm pretty nervous about the whole thing. I don't think he has gained much from his time in kindergarten so far.My son has never been tested for autism by the school, they accepted his med dx from the physician. However his three year retesting is coming up at the end of this year before he goes to 7th grade. Do you feel it would be beneficial to have these tests in his file? I know I want him tested for pragmatic skills, social langauge skills, and any learning disabilty. What else should I ask for? That's really interesting, thanks for taking the time to post that.last bump- and a ^5 to the volunteer moderators
Your son's IEP team should do an educational assessment for ASD because they need to document that you son needs services for his ASD. If they want to simply do a record review of the medical assessment and incorporate that into their assessment it is fine to do it that way.
Look at it like this- if they don't address it in an evaluation as an area of need, and in 2 years he is for whatever reason being served by different team members, those team members could look at your medical diagnosis and basically say, "so what? it isn't documented in any school evaluations..."
The team should also specifically determine which area of need is your son's primary area.
If my son has a medical diagnosis of PDD-NOS do I need him to have an educational diagnosis also? The IEP team and special education teacher all seem willing to incorporate suggestions from the medical team into the school setting so would the Educational diagnosis of an ASD be not as important? He is already eligible for special education so that isn't an issue.ok we had the Gilliams Autism test done with her last psychologist but no one ever told us what it all meant. Her scores were
stereotyped behaviors 8, communication 11 ( i dont think they realized with this part just how much her language is not functioning compared to repeating what she has heard), social interaction 8 adn develpmental 7 for a quotent score of 90.
Does this mean anything at all?
All that test is supposed to do is tell you whether it is likely the child has autism or not. With a quotient of 90 it is likely according to the test protocols. You can read the scoring explanation for that test on the first page of this thread. up again for fashionupMy son got a similar eval by a NeuroPsych. The schools never even suggested it probably due to lack of knowledge. In general, I haven't found that most parents get ASD dx. from SD's. There is the observation part of the evaluation too, not just the testing.I'm bumping this. This old topic deserves some new attention.