Autism Assessments for Screening and Diagnostics

Screening methods and diagnostics vary widely across the mental health care industry. However, finding the right tool for autism assessment doesn’t have to be difficult. The (CARS™2) Childhood Autism Rating Scale™ and (SRS™-2) Social Responsiveness Scale each provide empirically validated assessments that differentiate between those with autism and those with a different cognitive impairment.

Selecting a Screening Tool

Consider these questions when choosing a screening tool:

Is the test accurate enough to identify autism in most cases?
Is it specific enough to rule out autism?
Does it produce the same results in repeated testing sessions?
Does the test incorporate information from professional observations or caregiver reports?
Is the test written in the language of its recipient?
Is the test’s reading level accessible to all stakeholders?
Is the test cost-effective and practical?

When choosing a preliminary assessment, ensure that it fits the context in which you work. Assessments for healthcare are different from assessments in a school setting.

Diagnostic Tools

You can trust the experts at WPS. Educational psychologists, professional researchers, and physicians have spent decades developing tools that generate reliable diagnoses.

(CARS™2) Childhood Autism Rating Scale™

The (CARS™2) Childhood Autism Rating Scale™ aims to accurately diagnose autism in children and assess the severity of their symptoms. Based on thousands of cases and decades of use, it works for all ages across all points of the autism spectrum. Most useful in a clinical setting with a trained test administrator, it produces quantitative data through which meta-analyses have demonstrated their reliability across settings, administrators, and contexts.

The (SRS™-2) Social Responsiveness Scale, Second Edition, differs from the CARS 2 in that it does not require a professional to administer the test during a clinical session. Instead, the SRS 2 asks individuals in the child’s life to report what they have noticed during daily responsibilities. This method generates a different kind of data, drawing from parents, caregivers, teachers, counselors, and other adults who have interacted with the child in authentic settings.

Challenges With Getting It Right

Every individual person with autism is unique. While there are predictable symptoms across gender, income, race, and background, no single test can adequately define each person. Comorbidities such as ADHD and Tourette’s syndrome have similar symptoms to autism. It is also possible that young children may show an early developmental delay which later resolves.

Another poignant consideration is that white children with upper-class parents are more likely to be identified and diagnosed early. Black, Latinx, and Asian children with lower incomes may be victims of implicit bias in tests, or may not have the same multifaceted access to resources. It is important to bring awareness of these limitations and design testing sessions to emphasize inclusion and equity.

Rely on WPS for Industry-standard Autism Assessments

With decades of experience developing high-quality autism assessments tool, Western Psychological Services encourages innovation, creativity, transparency, and collaboration. Learn more from WPS about how to help kids in school using our psychological assessment tools.