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Standardizing ADOS Scores for a Measure of Severity in Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Abstract

The aim of this study is to standardize Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) scores within a large sample to approximate an autism severity metric. Using a dataset of 1,415 individuals aged 2–16 years with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) or nonspectrum diagnoses, a subset of 1,807 assessments from 1,118 individuals with ASD were divided into narrow age and language cells. Within each cell, severity scores were based on percentiles of raw totals corresponding to each ADOS diagnostic classification. Calibrated severity scores had more uniform distributions across developmental groups and were less influenced by participant demographics than raw totals. This metric should be useful in comparing assessments across modules and time, and identifying trajectories of autism severity for clinical, genetic, and neurobiological research.

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Acknowledgments

We gratefully acknowledge the help of Susan Risi, Kathryn Larson, Cristina Popa, and Mary Yonkovit, as well as the families that participated in this research. This study was funded by the National Institute of Mental Health (Validity of Diagnostic Measures for Autism Spectrum Disorders: NIMH RO1 MH066469) and an Autism Speaks Predoctoral Training Fellowship.

Disclosure

C. Lord receives royalties for the ADOS; profits related to this study were donated to charity.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. University of Michigan Autism and Communication Disorders Center, 1111 East Catherine Street, Ann Arbor, MI, 48109-2054, USA

    Katherine Gotham & Catherine Lord

  2. University of Manchester, Manchester, UK

    Andrew Pickles

Authors
  1. Katherine Gotham
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  2. Andrew Pickles
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  3. Catherine Lord
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Correspondence to Katherine Gotham.

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Gotham, K., Pickles, A. & Lord, C. Standardizing ADOS Scores for a Measure of Severity in Autism Spectrum Disorders. J Autism Dev Disord 39, 693–705 (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0674-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-008-0674-3

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