ADOS autism testing face to face versus online

[Rachie]

Hi
I have been wondering about this and there is an explainable answer and I would like to know what is is.

When I was being tested for autism it was during COVID and I was contacted by my autism assessment team in my borough under the NHS and asked if I would prefer my assessment to be carried out online or face to face. To be honest I cannot remember my reply. I lost some ground on my memory during a hospital admission the next year. Glad that I have all my earlier life documented.

Anyway, I was contacted again and told to attend an assessment in person and that is what happened. I was assessed by two psychologists in person face to face in an NHS centre using ADOS 2.

There has to be some trivial subtle differences as they was watching me in the reception area and out of the building and noted it. The book that was used during testing they obviously must put that on the computer for someone to view when doing it online. With me though I don't think I could have got that excitement I had for it if viewing it online on a computer but it would have sufficed. I was pointing so close to the book and nearly touching the pages and was so taken by it in real life.

The next one for the imagination and play. Now this is a standard test and they ask you what would you do with a toy basically giving you the object. I was wondering do you get another question that doesn't involve using a toy that works just as well or are you asked to provide your own. Perhaps they miss it out. You do not have to score in that category to pass the test. It can be done if not NHS assessment wouldn't provide the service. I'm just wondering about what is the adaption made for online.

In person perhaps just made it more simple in the end as I got out my laptop in front of them and was showing them my interests on it and it would have just made it more difficult online.

Now in the UK they use ADOS and a sheeting score is done. They don't usually tell you actually what level you are on there but some may do. It consists of various scores like someone could get a 3 for hand mannerisms and then get a 0 or 1 somewhere else. You get used to whatever system you used. Say you a got a 3 and you identified as being creative. How would you work that out with yourself. Some severe autistics may even have more creativity than some neurotypicals. Some in this group may even consider themselves the term derived from the Internet a 2e when saying they are level 3 as well. Or perhaps a level 3 with the exception of creativity.

 

[Rachie]

Lol I couldn't leave it like that unknowing. I had to go into my emails and look for what I replied to them. It turns out that I never answered about their question about what would be my preference. Instead I asked them when is it going to take place and they replied with X time and then I was taken to urgent and called it. Glad I got that one right

 

[Angular Chap]

I did my ADOS 2 assessment online via Skype. For the book part, the clinician had a digital copy of the book on his computer and he used the screen sharing feature of Skype to show me each page. I was asked to say “next” when I was finished reading or describing each page and was ready for the next one.

For the imagination and play part, I was asked to provide my own objects and have them ready on the day of the assessment. I was asked to tell a story using them. I pointed my camera at the objects and came up with my story.

They missed out the construction task (assembling a puzzle) and the watching of cartoons in my assessment.

They didn’t give me any ADOS scores or numbers in my report, even though it was very detailed.

 

[Rachie]

Thank you Angular Chap. So they asked you to provide your own toys for imagination. I was wondering how that worked so I am glad to find out and that works also. You perhaps may score more though if had never seen it before this is undoing yourself so to speak

I cannot watching any cartoons with mine. I do remember putting things together. Obviously it can be left out.

I am glad I have my scores to identify key areas as such clearly. A detailed report could guide you along with that as well I haven't even read my report in full though and I find it hard to and read bits of it and just looked at the scores.

 

[Neonatal RRT]

I did mine in person. Frankly, I think it more accurate when you have a trained observer watching your subtle, nuanced body language, facial expressions, etc. I had one person leading, another person observing. That toy thing threw me off. Failed that one miserably. I literally blanked out and couldn't do it. There were a few other exercises they had me do and my processing was too slow to actually do the exercise, or I simply just blanked out and couldn't do it. One thing that frustrated me was the one where the computer screen shows, in rapid sequence, different colored objects. Now, click the mouse when you see a black object. Easy enough. See something black, click the mouse, and by the time I clicked the mouse, it had changed to a different color. Too slow. Didn't get a single one correct. Grrrr!

 

[Rachie]

Neonatal RRT I am not sure if you are in the UK or not, but some of my tests were different as I don't remember there being a computer screen test but it amounts to the same thing in the end.

I was given some Play doh as well for one of the categories and I don't know how that would have worked online and that was for part of the sensory evaluation. They also gave me a toothbrush to use which I guess you could use yours at home.

More people are inclined to be I think of a bit of mix, may be majority of a category but some mix as well. No doubt some people are just the one uniform category.