Clinical practices in utilizing the ADOS to assess deaf or hard of hearing children for autism

Abstract

In order to assess deaf or hard of hearing children for autism, diagnostic tools such as the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) are used; however, the ADOS was not designed for use with hearing-impaired individuals. This research aimed to survey clinicians with experience assessing deaf or hard of hearing children for autism and learn about their diagnostic practices. Eleven of 27 clinicians completed the survey, each having had experience using the standardized ADOS. The results of the survey revealed that clinicians took both visual and verbal modalities into account in selecting a module. Also, contra the official instructions, clinicians reported making the modification of considering signs equal to words. Other ADOS tasks were modified to accommodate deaf or hard of hearing children, response to name being the most commonly modified task. Adaptations were decided and executed individually, introducing a margin of error in diagnosis and de-standardizing the ADOS. The responses demonstrated that the ADOS should be adapted and standardized for use with deaf or hard of hearing children.