Qeios
Beyond ADOS-2-Centered Autism Diagnosis: A Critical Narrative Review of Specificity, Validation Populations, Contemporary Childhood, and Etiological and Functional Assessment
By Sanabria FMl.
Abstract
Background
The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2), can contribute to autism assessment, but its institutional authority can exceed the evidence supporting its use. An observational classification cannot independently establish developmental history, exclude alternative explanations, determine medical etiology, or identify an individual child's treatment priorities.
Objective
To critically examine the justification for ADOS-2-centered diagnostic pathways, emphasizing specificity in clinically complex populations, the independence of validation standards, developmental and contextual measurement bias, examiner competence, and the transportability of historical assessment assumptions to contemporary childhood.