The ADOS-2 Manual provides standardized, semi-structured observation protocols for assessing autism across five modules based on age and language level. It offers refined algorithms, scoring guidelines for symptom severity, and professional administration protocols. For more details, visit Western Psychological Services (WPS) Sage Journals
: For children 31 months or older who do not consistently use phrase speech .
She led Leo to the room with the bubbles, the small figures, the picture book about a frog. The manual said: Present the bubbles. Wait for the child to request more. Leo didn’t ask. He just watched the bubbles rise, then popped each one with a fingertip, smiling slightly.
She wrote: Leo meets ADOS-2 criteria for autism spectrum disorder in the domain of social communication. However, his imaginative play and capacity for metaphor suggest a rich inner world. Recommendation: support social navigation without extinguishing his narrative gifts.
She didn’t mention the cape. But she thought of it as she filed the report—a small red flag of personhood, flying over the fortress of codes.
The manual provides:
She flipped to the scoring algorithm. A “2” in Reciprocal Social Interaction meant notable impairment. A “3” in Quality of Social Overtures meant the child might approach, but oddly—too close, too loud, or without the usual rhythm of greeting. Lena traced the codes with her finger, remembering a boy last year who had scored high on everything. His mother had wept. Lena had held the manual in her lap like a shield, wishing it could say something softer than “meets threshold.”
The ADOS-2 Manual is a comprehensive volume designed to take a clinician from the theoretical underpinnings of the test to the practical application of scoring. It is typically divided into several key sections:
The assessment is divided into , and the manual provides specific instructions for selecting the correct one based on an individual’s chronological age and expressive language level: National Institutes of Health (.gov)