ADOS Test for Adults

I know this is an old thread but it describes my experience. I had the same test was given the book with flying frogs. Some patterns to fix on a diagram and some paper clips to make up a story. Well seeing I read English as my 1st degree going through a story or making one up was not a problem. I was then told I didn't score enough to reach the threshold. I also couldn't supply my childhood information. My parents are immigrants who had gone back to their country with me as a child. Unfortunately no records were kept. I ended up being given a diagnosis of atypical autism. 

I'm new to this forum. I have a daughter age 24, who exhibits many Aspergers symptoms. She has become more disconnected as time goes on. It's difficult to connect with her, with attempts often leading to emotional outbursts.

She has never been diagnosed. I'm considering having her tested (getting her to consider it will be a delicate process) with an expensive all day testing process which will include the ADOS testing.

My concern is that she needs to be diagnosed moving forward, to give her a road map for possible guidance to live a better and more productive life. Does she have a "disability"? Is she eligible for any help?

She graduated w/honors from a prestigeous University, but has not persued her major. Her path is now pursued from home, and she has become very withdrawn, and spends most of her time alone.

Should I pursue this testing avenue? Any recommendations for someone to see her? I don't want to spend a fortune on all day testing that may not be specific to her condition.  I live on Long Island NY. Thanks in advance.

According to this there should be different modules for different age groups

research.agre.org/.../aboutados.cfm

research.agre.org/.../aboutadi.cfm 

I was diagnosed with the ADOS test - it is appropriate for adults. One of my activities was exactly the children's story book, where there were a couple pages to indicate the times of the day, and you had to read the remainder of the story. There were other tests involving making up stories (such as picking 5 random items out of the bag and making up a story with them), there were sensory items placed on the desk, and my boyfriend told me that all of the interlude elemtns of the test (where she would say something and then pause for a really long time) were also tests to see if I would initiate / respond to social interaction.

Even though the tests may seem slightly juvenile, they are assessing the elemtns which need to be assessed in order to obtain a diagnosis.

wishface, you are right - NVLD is a clinical term, but I think it is more widely known about in the USA than it is here. There is in fact a website called NVLDontheweb.org, or something like that. It is common but not essential for people with Asperger's to have the complete NVLD profile, but they can occur separately. All people with AS share with NVLD  problems with interpreting non verbal communication like body language, but people with AS also display obsessive behaviour and more profound social problems.

I definitely meet the full NVLD profile - my performance IQ is very very low -first percentile, while my verbal IQ is 111 - high average. I also have dyscalculia and visual spatial difficulties. If you have NVLD, you will have problems in the following areas: motoric, academic, visual spatial, and social. Unlike people with the classic autism profile the visual domain will not be a strength but a weakness, and it is likely that you will be an auditory, verbal learner; and will need things written down in a step by step fashion. Things should also be talked through and explained because comprehension lags behind rote memory and an advanced vocabulary.

NVLD is not considered to be a diagnostic term but more a description of a specific learning profile that can cause disability if it is not accomodated. You will struggle with practical tasks, making sense of the environment, and will likely be quite clumsy and slow to pick up some tasks that rely on non verbal skills.

EQ = Empathy Quotient

AQ = Autism Quotient

I think the higher you score on the AQ and the lower you score on the EQ the more likely you find yourself on the autistic spectrum. There are questionnaires for AQ and EQ with about 60 or 70 questions each if I remember correctly.

During my assessment I did not have to look at any story books or puzzles. The assessment team just interviewed my parents and I.

I did fill out the EQ and AQ, though.

Also I had a lengthy Educational Psychologist report at my disposal, which included the WISC 111 intelligence test, taken when I was 10 years old. This provided them with enough relevant assessment data.

Assessments seem to vary so much, and you would think there would be some degree of standardisation.

@wishface in My assessment i was asked bunch of questions which i struggled to answer properly my dad was with me to do the ones about childhood

The psychologist read out a short story to me, and i found it difficult to take it in and i said its a weird story 

i did this little puzzle thing moving rings from one peg to another cant explain properly about the puzzle or how to do it, struggled with the 4 rings and when trying to put it on peg i missed it a couple of times before it went on 

i mostly struggled with getting words out and struggled to explain things during the whole assessment

cant remember what else happened

I know what you mean. I think they want to see how you describe the things in the book, if you are actually telling a story or just describing what you see on each individual page. I think I did the latter: I described in detail what I could see on each page, but I didn't tell a consecutive story. I seem to remember that I even started describing the patterns on all the frogs, but I described each page as a completely new image and didn't see them as some kind of storyline. 

I know what you mean. I think they want to see how you describe the things in the book, if you are actually telling a story or just describing what you see on each individual page. I think I did the latter: I described in detail what I could see on each page, but I didn't tell a consecutive story. I seem to remember that I even started describing the patterns on all the frogs, but I described each page as a completely new image and didn't see them as some kind of storyline. 

I had to do exactly the same things during my assessment, wishface. And I was 37 when I had to take the ADOS test. I had a hard time taking it serious for exactly the same reasons you mentioned. I still remember that book with the flying frogs quite vividly. The fact that the test was administered by a guy who seemed to be about 25 years old didn't help either...

Im 23 and had assessment back in december was diagnosed earlier this month

i can say my assessment was nothing like yours, the assessment you had sound like it is for kids

you should ask for an assessment to test adults

I didnt have to look through childreans book in my assessment, i dont know what type of assessment it was

bit stupid them making you look through childreans book, you should ask for assessment that is appropriate to diagnose adults