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Comprehensive Assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorders

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Handbook of Applied Behavior Analysis for Children with Autism

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Abstract

The evaluation process for autism spectrum disorder can vary drastically in the way it looks due to the wide variety of assessments and domains that are included in a comprehensive evaluation. This chapter attempts to delineate best practices in the autism spectrum disorder diagnostic evaluation process by reviewing the domains of interest in an evaluation, the common assessment tools, common comorbid diagnoses, and other diagnostic considerations. Every evaluation should begin with an intake interview designed to gather information about the child which may directly impact the assessment battery chosen to assess the various areas of concern and interest. Autism-specific behaviors, cognitive ability, adaptive behaviors, speech/language ability, restricted interests and repetitive behaviors, sensory abnormalities, and other psychological comorbidities are the areas typically assessed in a comprehensive autism evaluation. A comprehensive evaluation process should result not only in a diagnosis but also in individualized recommendations for support and interventions services that often include applied behavioral analysis services. These recommendations should be included in the completed testing report and disseminated to parents and other relevant parties during a feedback session. Lastly, future directions for the field of autism diagnostics will be discussed in this chapter.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, USA

    Megan Bigham, Diane Keister & Samantha Johnston

  2. Department of Psychology, Idaho State University, Pocatello, ID, USA

    Robert Rieske

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  1. Megan Bigham
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  2. Diane Keister
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  4. Robert Rieske
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Correspondence to Robert Rieske .

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  1. Department of Psychology, Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, LA, USA

    Johnny L. Matson

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Bigham, M., Keister, D., Johnston, S., Rieske, R. (2023). Comprehensive Assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorders. In: Matson, J.L. (eds) Handbook of Applied Behavior Analysis for Children with Autism. Autism and Child Psychopathology Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-27587-6_4

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