If you are an ADOS-2 user who has not previously been trained in the ADOS, you should do the following to obtain essential competence in the ADOS-2: Make sure you have prior education, training, and experience that includes extensive exposure to autism spectrum disorders. Study the ADOS-2 Manual. You can purchase and complete associated post-test materials for obtaining Independent Study credits (LMS-605MCE) to receive 6 contact hours of professional continuing education credit for learning the ADOS-2 Manual. Attend a WPS ADOS-2 Clinical Workshop...

An ADOS-2 clinical training workshop is a two-day course that uses a lecture format to introduce people to the basic principles of administering and scoring the ADOS-2. For more information about ADOS-2, please visit the WPS ADOS-2 Clinical Workshop page. The ADOS-2 Training Video Program (LMS-605) and its associated post-test materials for obtaining Independent Study credits (LMS-605CE) also provide equivalent content. Either of these provides one of the essential steps towards competence in using the ADOS-2 in everyday clinical practice...

Workshop attendees are typically professionals who will be qualified to use the ADOS-2 in practice – that is, professionals who, prior to the workshop, have education, training and experience in using individually administered test batteries and who have a background and experience in the treatment of autism spectrum disorders. Some examples of clinicians who have a professional mandate to treat autism spectrum disorders and who make use of the ADOS-2 in their daily work are clinical and school psychologists, psychiatrists, occupational therapists...

WPS licenses test materials that have been modified for use in the assessment of individuals with profound, severe, moderate, or mild levels of deafness with suspected autism spectrum disorder. These include the ADOS-2, ADI-R, and SRS-2 Deaf Adaptations developed by Dr. Barry Wright and colleagues in the United Kingdom. The modification documents are available for researchers and clinicians to use under license from WPS and are based on the original WPS published materials. For more information, please contact WPS Rights and Permissions to learn...

Learning to use the ADOS-2 and diagnosing autism spectrum disorders are two different professional activities. The ADOS-2 training is designed to help professionals learn to competently administer and score the ADOS-2. It is the first step toward that end—becoming fully competent on the ADOS-2 itself requires additional practice beyond the initial training. The ADOS-2 training is not a comprehensive curriculum in autism spectrum diagnosis. Autism spectrum diagnosis involves much more than administration of the ADOS-2; it typically involves a multidisciplinary...

No. The WPS materials are designed to provide training to individual users only. Completion does not provide the additional materials and experiences required for the skills needed to train others. The ADOS-2 Training Video Program (LMS-605) can be used to train multiple clinical users at a single site. Further training through the specialized research training course offered by the research community is required before others may be trained. (Please also see FAQs "What is an ADOS-2 research training workshop?" and "Once I have completed an ADOS...

Form A begins at age 3 for LC/OE and Age 5 for RC/WE. Form B begins at age 5 for all scales. Aside from the starting age, the forms are parallel and can be used interchangeably. Form B can be given immediately after Form A (or vice versa) if there is a reason to do so.

Most individuals will begin with Form A and will purchase Form B for follow-up testing. Form B uses the same manuals as Form A and therefore the only materials needed for Form B are the easels, record forms, and WE response booklet. These materials are sold as "packs."

The scoring software provides all of the score conversions and a narrative summary. It also provides a detailed item analysis.

The new version does not automatically invalidate the original, and we understand that it can take some time to transition to a new version. That said, ethical guidelines for most professional organizations state that the most up-to-date tests should be used. There is no specific timeframe, but we recommend switching to the new version as soon as possible.

No, the new software is only for the OWLS-II.

If you cannot locate an assessment published by WPS (e.g., “W-123”), then the test might have been placed out-of-print and is unavailable for sale. If this is the case, please contact our Rights & Permissions Department (rights@wpspublish.com) to learn more about what options may be available for you to access those materials.

An ADOS-2 research training workshop is only available to those who have completed the in-person clinical training workshop. Research training focuses on bringing attendees' scoring skills to a high level of inter-rater agreement with the scoring practices of skilled examiners. The heightened level of accuracy is needed to ensure that item-level coding is comparable at different labs in different parts of the world where research is being conducted. Research training workshops are offered by the ADOS-2 authors and their colleagues; WPS is not involved...

Yes! WPS provides a research discount on all of its test publications for graduate students and for researchers involved in formal, funded research directed at publication in peer review journals. WPS also offers scholarly discounts for educational use of its test materials. You may apply if you are using a WPS-proprietary product (identified by a “W-“ product number) in a research study or if you are planning to use WPS-proprietary products to train students.For information about how to apply for research and educational discounts, click ...

Research suggests that there are not overall practice effects on the ADOS-2. Although children who are given the ADOS-2 repeatedly (such as every month or so) may become more familiar with particular tasks (e.g., they may get better at following a birthday party routine), their scores are generally not affected, and the diagnosis as a whole does not seem to be impacted. The scoring of the ADOS-2 emphasizes the child’s spontaneous initiations and responses to the examiner’s behavior, as opposed to scoring of the tasks themselves. Therefore, it makes...

Conducting team-based autism evaluations is the standard of practice in many school settings, and the ADOS-2 fits right in. In understanding how to use the ADOS-2 in the context of a team autism evaluation, it is important to differentiate a team autism evaluation from a team administration of the ADOS-2.  A team autism evaluation occurs when different professionals come together to provide a multidisciplinary approach to ASD assessment. This is ideal in order to gather information from multiple sources and make use of expertise from different...

Access to translations is managed by WPS Rights & Permissions (rights@wpspublish.com). Several ADOS-2 translations have been licensed to our international publishing partners and will become available for all research and clinical applications when they are released. The full process of translation, back-translation, author-review, and production generally takes 18 to 24 months. WPS Rights & Permissions can also arrange authorization for academically qualified groups to make research-only translations for the ADOS-2 in languages where no...

It is the firm policy of WPS and the ADOS-2 authors that all ADOS-2 administrations must make use of a written translation that has undergone a formal review and approval process through WPS or one of our licensed international publishing partners. The authors take this position because of their concerns about proper standards of patient care. Experience indicates that translation can significantly affect ADOS-2 scores, and thus the reliability and validity of test results. Only properly reviewed translations can provide results that correspond...

The Comparison Score for the Spanish language translation of the ADOS-2 can be calculated using a procedure identical to that used for the English version. However, the algorithm form for the Spanish language translation does not include the scoring information for the Comparison Score on the form itself. To calculate this score after completing the algorithm form, there are four options: 1. Refer to Appendix C of the English language ADOS-2 Manual, which includes full scoring information for the Comparison Score for all ADOS-2 Modules for which...

As with all standardized assessments, care should be taken to follow the provided language as closely as possible when administering the ADOS-2. In contrast to many other standardized assessments, however, the standardization of the ADOS-2 does allow for and expect verbal instructions to be adapted when necessary to ensure the participant’s understanding of the task. This includes modifications to account for regional and cultural language variations. There are various situations in which you may find it necessary to modify the scripted language...