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The Autistic Disorder Evaluation Scale (ADES) was developed in response to numerous requests from school personnel, who were experiencing difficulty in reaching and documenting decisions regarding diagnosis, placement, and programming for children and adolescents with Autistic Disorder. The ADES was designed to contribute to early identification and service delivery for students with Autistic Disorder, as defined by the American Psychiatric Association (2000). The scale has a home and school version to include both school and residential behaviour observation and documentation, thus allowing a more comprehensive assessment of the presence of characteristics of Autistic Disorder. It is useful for identification and progress-monitoring from ages 3 through 18 years of age.
The ADES was designed to provide a measure of those characteristics typically associated with Autistic Disorder as described by the medical profession and observed by educators, psychologists, and psychiatrists. The Home Version allows parents to provide doctors, therapists, and educators observational documentation and measurement of the characteristics in the home setting. The School Version allows educators to document observations of the child in the school environment. Combining both versions then allows a broader scope of the child’s social, emotional, academic, and communication strengths and weaknesses across different environments. Both scales have been developed in order to contribute valuable information to the identification process of children and youth with Autistic Disorder. The following functions are served by the instrument: • Measurement of behaviour by primary observers in the school or residential environment, • comparison of an individual student to a national standard for screening purposes, • identification of the child’s characteristics of Autistic Disorder as specified by the American Psychiatric Association, • pinpointing areas of need for behavioural intervention/improvement, and • identification of goals, objectives, and interventions for the student’s IEP, and program implementation with the use of the companion intervention manual, Autistic Disorder Intervention Manual.
The ADES School Version: • was standardised on a total of 3,413 students including identified students. • the standardisation population included students from 27 states and represented all geographic regions of the United States. • was factor analysed to create the factor clusters (sub scales). • provides separate norms for male and female students 3 through 18 years of age. • can be completed in approximately 15 minutes and includes 126 items easily observed and documented by educational personnel.
The Home Version can be completed by a parent or guardian in approximately 15 minutes and includes 126 items representing behaviours exhibited in and around the home environment.
The Autistic Disorder Intervention Manual includes IEP goals, objectives, and interventions for all 126 items on the School Version of the scale.
The ADES Complete Kit includes: • Intervention Strategies Documentation Forms (50) • ADES School Version Technical Manual • ADES School Version Rating Forms (25) • ADES Home Version Technical Manual • ADES Home Version Rating Forms (25) • Autistic Disorder Intervention Manual
