Assessment

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Assessment
Initial Eligibility
Disclaimer The Southern California Autism
Training Collaborative (SCATC) has provided
information included in this original format of
the training manual (dated August 2007). SCATC
is not responsible for any changes made to this
training protocol by subsequent users.
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AUTISM

• Complex neurobiological (brain) disorder of
  development that is life long.
• It inhibits a persons ability to communicate and
  develop social relationships and is often
  accompanied by extreme behavioral challenges.
• It is severe and pervasive developmental
  disturbance.
• The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
  have called autism a national public health
  crises whose cause and cure remain unknown.
• Common for ASD to be co-morbid with other
  disorders (i.e., affective disorders, Tourettes
  Syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorders).

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Eligibility Criteria Under IDEIA

• Individual with Disabilities Education
  Improvement Act 2004
• (i) Autism means a developmental disability
  significantly affecting verbal and nonverbal
  communication and social interaction, generally
  evident before age 3, that adversely affects a
  childs educational performance. Other
  characteristics often associated with autism are
  engagement in repetitive activities and
  stereotyped movements, resistance to
  environmental change or change in daily routines,
  and unusual responses to sensory experiences.
  The term does not apply if a childs educational
  performance is adversely affected primarily
  because the child has an emotional disturbance.
• (ii) A child who manifests the characteristics of
  autism after age 3 could be diagnosed as having
  autism if the criteria in this section are
  satisfied.
• (Code of Federal Regulations, Title 34, Section
  300.7 (b)(1)

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• Sorry, no magical device that detects the
  presence of Autism Spectrum Disorders.
• Use rating scales, standardized measures and
  observations to help identify Autism Spectrum
  Disorders.

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IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT

• No objective biological test, such as a blood
  test or an X-ray examination, can confirm a
  childs PDD diagnosis.
• Complicated, much like putting together a jigsaw
  puzzle that does not have a clear border and
  picture.
• Identification reflects the clinicians best
  informed judgment.
• National Dissemination Center for Children with
  Disabilities (NICHCY)

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IDENTIFICATION AND ASSESSMENT

• No test currently available provides conclusive
  autism results.
• Because of the complexity of autism and the many
  forms it may take, it is unlikely that such an
  instrument will be developed in the foreseeable
  future.
• Professionals must make interpretations and draw
  conclusions based on various sources of
  information, often leading to different
  diagnostic conclusions.

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ASSESSMENT PURPOSES

• Determine whether a child does/does not meet
  eligibility criteria as a child with autism.
• Provide information about childs educational,
  physical, social, and psychological strengths and
  weaknesses.
• Develop effective intervention, treatment, and
  educational programs.

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Qualitative Assessment

• Functioning level and interface between the
• areas of
• Social interaction
• Social communication
• Social imagination, flexible thinking and play
• Cognitive ability
• Developmental skills in areas such as attention
  control, language levels, fine- and gross-motor
  functioning and independence skills

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Assessment should include

• A thorough developmental history
• Background medical information
• Information from any therapeutic interventions
• Educational history
• Current educational attainments

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A Thorough Assessment includes

• Collecting and interpreting information about

• Intellectual/cognitive ability (verbal/non
  verbal)
• Behavioral features/characteristics
• Social interaction/emotional functioning
• Perceptual strengths and weaknesses
• Adaptive functioning/self-help skills
• Communication (receptive and expressive)

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Assessment should include information from and
observation within a range of settings

• Home and family based
• School, nursery or playgroup setting
• Within therapy settings

Remember to observe both in structured and
unstructured settings!!!
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BASIC REQUIREMENTS

• Professional who is trained and competent in
  using an instrument and/or procedure.
• Normative sample permits evaluations of a child
  with autism make administration, scoring, and
  interpretation adjustments when conducting
  assessments of children with autism.
• Evaluations are based on samples of behavior that
  may or may not be representative of a childs
  ability.

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The Initial Assessment

• Initial diagnosis is made by a professional
  experienced in the evaluation of child
  developmental disorders.

• A qualified professionals may include
• pediatrician
• pediatric neurologist
• developmental pediatrician
• developmental psychologist
• child psychiatrist
• psychologist

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RELEASE OF INFORMATION

• R.O.I.

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Sources of Information include

• Parents and Caretakers
• Educators (general and special)
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Audiologists
• Occupational Therapists
• Physical Therapists
• School Psychologists

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Components of a GOOD Report

• COGNITION
• Uneven development of cognitive skills
• Relative strength in processing visual versus
  verbal information

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COMMUNICATION

• Trouble responding to verbal information
  presented at a fast pace
• Trouble understanding multiple-step commands
• Inconsistent understanding of verbal information
• A need for verbal information to be repeated,
  especially information that is new.

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Social Understanding

• Difficulty understanding social rules such as
  taking turns and sharing
• Problems understanding and reading the emotions
  of others
• Difficulty taking the perspective of other people
  (e.g. theory of mind)
• Problems initiating and maintaining interactions
  and conversations with other people.
• 
  

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Behaviors

• Difficulty screening out distractions
• Difficulty completing activities independently
  and initiating work activities
• Problems organizing free time and stopping one
  activity and moving on to the next
• Difficulty being flexible, shifting attention to
  a new focus
• Problems doing more than one thing at a time.

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Please review individual slides for specific
references.Further references to be listed.