What is the Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS)?
The Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS) is used to help identify symptoms, behaviors, and associated features of Autism Spectrum Disorder in children and adolescents aged 2-18. It is an important part of the diagnosis process because it provides a valid, reliable, and carefully crafted tool for assessment to help prevent over and under diagnosis.
What is the Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS) Used For?
The Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS) is used to quantify observations of a child that are associated with autism. This a valid and reliable tool that can be used to help guide diagnostic decisions, treatment planning, ongoing monitoring of response to intervention, and program evaluation.
How is the Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS) Administered?
The Autism Spectrum Rating Scale (ASRS) is based on reports filled out by the child’s parent(s) and teachers and/or childcare providers. The rater has to have known the child for at least four weeks and should be able to answer questions about the child’s behaviors that have occurred during the four weeks prior to the rating.
What is Being Reported?
The parent(s) and teacher and/or childcare provider reports include 70 items related to behaviors associated with Autism, Asperger’s Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder-Not Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS). The results of the items produce a total score which is further interpreted by three scales: ASRS Scales, DSM-5 Scale, and Treatment Scales.
What are the ASRS Scales?
The ASRS scales interpret a child’s social/communication skills and unusual behaviors.
Social/communication skills interpret whether a child has the verbal and non-verbal skills to appropriately initiate, engage in, and maintain social contact.
Unusual behaviors interpret whether a child has the ability to tolerate changes in routine, if they have purposeless or stereotypical behaviors, and if they overreact to certain sensory stimuli.
What is the DSM-5 Scale?
The DSM-5 scale compares the child’s symptoms to the diagnostic criteria for Autism Spectrum Disorder directly from the DSM-5. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM–5) is the tool published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) which is used to diagnose mental disorders.
What are the Treatment Scales?
The treatment scales interpret a child’s peer socialization, adult socialization, social/emotional reciprocity, atypical language, stereotypy, behavioral rigidity, sensory sensitivity, attention/self-regulation.
Peer socialization is a child’s willingness and capacity to successfully engage in activities that develop and maintain relationships with other children.
Adult socialization is a child’s willingness and capacity to successfully engage in activities that develop and maintain relationships with adults.
Social/emotional reciprocity is a child’s ability to provide an appropriate emotional response to another person in a social situation.
Atypical language is a child’s ability to utilize spoken communication in a structured and conventional way.
Stereotypy is the extent to which a child engages in purposeless and repetitive behaviors.
Behavioral rigidity is a child’s ability to tolerate changes in their environment, routines, activities, or behaviors.
Sensory sensitivity is a child’s level of tolerance for experiences through touch, sound, vision, smell, or taste.
Attention/self-regulation is a child’s ability to appropriately focus their attention on one thing while ignoring other things.