Ados Assessment anxiety

[Mothertwinsplusone]

Hey all.. I am not sure what this post is a rant of anxiety or looking for reassurance and advice of some kind lol. My ds 6yrs old is due his ados assessment on Thursday. I am so anxious that they won't see what I do as he masks so well and I apologises and dont mean any offence to anyone what so ever as i know asd is asd and these terms are not used but i can't think of how else to say it he would be considered high functioning so i feel he will not show much. Also I have videos clips of him from a young ages up to now but unsure they will ever consider them also his school questionnaire was filled in when he just start p2 and the teacher hadnt full got to know him and everything was marked as not noticing anything however as the year went on we had school refusal and some issues which they will not be aware off. Can anyone tell me what to expect? Tia

You can inform them of the difficulties since the school’s forms were completed.

The ADOS is designed to elicit certain behaviours in autistic individuals. A good assessor will understand masking and see it for what it is.

My DS had the ADOS aged 4. I went in thinking maybe he'd be borderline or they wouldn't be able to make a call; he'd passed every other developmental check with flying colours as he's academically very bright, does well in a quiet room with one adult, and tries hard on assessments! But within 2 questions, I knew he wasn't giving NT responses; he was diagnosed there and then.

It's a very carefully designed assessment to hone in on the differences in autistic brains and assessors know what they are looking for. Try not to worry.

I wasn't allowed in the room when my ds had his ADOS, but the feedback I got was: 'Aw, your son was amazing! He was so chatty, polite, engaged, clever, confident and kind, answered every question brilliantly and thoughtfully. He made it so easy for us. We could clearly see that he scored at the higher end of the scale. There is no doubt that he has ASD'.
The more they chat and engage, the better they can see. If he'd just clam up and not engage, or only monosyllabic, the test might be actually inconclusive, as the reason could be ASD but also social anxiety, learning difficulties, speech etc. It's not as if ASD children are not social, chatty, polite, funny - it's in these situation that you can see the differences. Slightly different way of thinking and phrasing, lack or reduced amount of gestures despite animated speech, tone of voice etc.

I wasn't allowed in the room when my ds had his ADOS, but the feedback I got was: 'Aw, your son was amazing! He was so chatty, polite, engaged, clever, confident and kind, answered every question brilliantly and thoughtfully. He made it so easy for us. We could clearly see that he scored at the higher end of the scale. There is no doubt that he has ASD'.
The more they chat and engage, the better they can see. If he'd just clam up and not engage, or only monosyllabic, the test might be actually inconclusive, as the reason could be ASD but also social anxiety, learning difficulties, speech etc. It's not as if ASD children are not social, chatty, polite, funny - it's in these situation that you can see the differences. Slightly different way of thinking and phrasing, lack or reduced amount of gestures despite animated speech, tone of voice etc.