Talk:Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule

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Took out reference to "degree of symptoms" in the first paragraph. The ADOS is currently categorical (a person is either "in" or "out" of the classification) and not dimensional (can't say that one person is "more autistic" than another, nor that one person is "very autistic" and another is "not very autistic"). There is certainly new reearch in the area that is starting to suggest that autism symptoms are on a continuum, but the ADOS as it is presently validated, does not lend itself to that kind of measure/distinction.

Also felt that the previous cautionary last paragraph in the article, while having several salient points, came at things from a less scientific point of view. For example, the instrument doesn't make mistaken diagnoses when used on individuals with motor deficits, the instrument should absolutely never be used with such individuals in the first place to make a formal classification. Similarly, it did not seem correct to end with a comment on non-specific "functional assessments" being superior to a formally validated instrument in the absence of countervailing evidence. Perhaps there should be a separate article about alternate measures, with a "see also" link from this article?Cpgruber 06:40, 15 July 2007 (UTC)

What the article really needs is some specific sources for the comments you've provided above and in the page - general references aren't really useful for pages like this. I've also removed the sentence While the instrument has been a central tool for international research on autism for over 15 years and provides a scientifically validated autism classification, neither it nor any other single measure should be the sole factor in a medical diagnosis from the last paragraph - the preceeding sentence seems reasonable, but this one is a bit OR for my tastes. It's also very proscriptive, and we are not a how-to guide. I don't know enough about the ADOS to know if this is actually common knowledge, so if a source could be provided, it may be appropriate for the page. I'd prefer it re-worded though.

If you are well-informed about the ADOS, it's research and use, it'd be great if you could expand the stub. WLU 14:01, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

Thanks for the input. Not really sure how to implement a proper tone/style on this as I am on the OR side of things and so is the instrument. It is hard to rethink a more general take--what kind of sources to cite, etc. The ADOS (and ADI-R a closely related structred psychiatric interview by the same authors are ususally cited as the "gold standard" in the area of autism research. NIMH or NIH studies in this country and collaborative studies in Europe use the instruments to qualify their samples--that is, the instruments more or less define what autism means in the reseach community. They've been translated into 20 languages worldwide. The ADOS external link in the article is to the ADOS author's University of Michigan laboratory website. There, among other ueful information sources on autism, can be found a 65-page annotated bibliography covering some but not all of the peer review journals and other major works using the ADOS.

You were right to futher cut back the second paragraph. Perhaps it should be removed entirely. The problem is that psychological tests that are used to make life-changing diagnoses provoke a lot of deeply felt reaction at times. Not every user will have been totally proper in their application of the instrument. And all such measures will provide useful, important information, but within a limitation usually described scientifically as "the error of measurement." So cautions and provisos are always necessary when the discussion touches on professional uses. Typically the most important single such statement for all psychological tests and particularly those used in high stakes testing (e.g., IQ tests, dignostic tests for ADHD and autism, yes also achivement and aptitude tests used in scholastic placement) is that "No single test result should be used as the sole basis of a educational decision or psychiatric dianosis. Test results should be used in conjunction with other relevant infomation to arrive a a fully informed professional judgment." That is probably not the kind of statement that should appear in every stub for every psychological test in a general encyclopedia entry. In its absence, however and unfortunately, each stub will tend to collect ad hoc criticisms based on what may well be true and unfortuate experiences that are due to test misuse rather than characteristics of the test itself.Plskmn 15:27, 17 July 2007 (UTC)

Source it. Best thing to do for anything. Find sources, add them. If someone's said so, or if it's part of the ADOS protocol or manual, that's a source. WLU 20:27, 18 July 2007 (UTC)