Our transdisciplinary team works in a collaborative manor in order to assess a child’s strengths and areas for improvement, across key social and physical milestones. This team is made up of a Psychologist, a Speech and Language Pathologist, a Physical Therapist, and an Occupational Therapist in order to optimize the accuracy of results. The protocols used throughout the evaluation process are referred to as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), which consists of tasks that involve social interaction between the examiner and the child being assessed. These evaluations are functional assessments using structured and semi-structured play with systematic observation which ultimately produce quantitative scores for analysis.
A few of the items the examiners will look for are:
Speech abnormalities, echolalia, reciprocal conversation, unusual eye contact, joint attention, shared enjoyment in interaction, quality of social overtures, functional and imaginative play, unusual sensory interests, repetitive interests, complex mannerisms, idiosyncratic use of words or phrases, stereotyped behaviors, anxiety, over activity, and/ or disruptive behavior.