Doctors use a number of tools to assess if children have autism spectrum disorders. If your child exhibits the signs and symptoms of autism, you should take him or her to a physician for examination. The physician might suggest that the child takes a test to determine whether he or she has symptoms for Asperger’s syndrome.
The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) no longer considers Asperger’s as its own syndrome. It now instructs doctors to diagnose this condition in the broad category of disorders in under autism’s spectrum. Therefore, confirm first if your physician understands when taking your child for Aspergers test to make sure that he or she screen for symptoms specific to this condition.
The testing tools will help both the doctor and you to better evaluate your child’s mental health, IQ, language skills, personality, and behavior.
Tools Used for Asperger’s Testing in Children
Doctors use many tests for analysis and assessment of the disorder, because Asperger’s doesn’t have one specific test for diagnosis. Some of the tests used include:
Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)
CARS is an assessment tool that is widely used to test for autism spectrum disorders in children and determine how severe their condition is. This tool has a total of 15 items that evaluate ability to adapt, thinking skills, social interaction, and more. CARS has proven to be highly sensitive when it comes to testing children aged 2 years and older. But due to its high sensitivity, this test may over-diagnose kids under 2 years giving a false-positive autism result according to various studies.
Gilliam Autism Rating Scale (GADS)
For assessment a doctor, parent, teacher, or any other trained person can use GADS to tell exactly which disorder the child has because this tell can distinguish between autism, Asperger’s, and other behavioral disorders. GADS takes about 5 to 10 minutes to provide results, and is used on patients between 3 to 22 years old.
Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale (ASDS)
ASDS is a scale used in Aspergers test and adolescents. This scale evaluates specific behaviors associated with this disorder, documents progress, and gives suggestions on what to be done to improve the patients condition. This test can be administered by anyone who knows the patient well and can be completed in 15 minutes.
Autism Spectrum Rating Scales (ASRS)
This test can be administered to patients aged between 2 to 18 years old to detect symptoms and behaviors of autism spectrum disorders. ASRS is the first test that compares a patient with a national sample of patients with autism spectrum disorders. The test takes about 20 minutes to complete.
