The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule – 2 (ADOS-2) is the standard in autism diagnosing and is valid for ages 18 months up through adulthood. The ADOS-2 is divided into different modules. Each module is designed to assess various ages and levels of language development – Toddlers, Pre-K, School age, Older Adolescents/Adults. If you have concerns about your child’s development, or if you wonder whether you may be on the spectrum, please contact Mercy to be added to our waitlist for an autism assessment.

Being on the spectrum has many awesome and difficult aspects to it:

There are many awesome aspects of having autism! Children and adults on the autism spectrum are very loyal to their friends! They can be conscientious, reliable and honest. Their ability to intensely focus on a subject can give them a deep knowledge of certain subjects and some individuals on the autism spectrum rise to the top of their chosen professions because of this knowledge and focus.

With proper treatment, some of the difficult aspects of autism can be addressed. Individuals on the spectrum can learn in small step-by-step goals to improve how they interact with those around them. Some difficult aspects of life on the spectrum can be the following: Social communication deficits and restricted and repetitive behaviors, difficulty participating in back-and-forth conversations, reduced sharing of emotions, difficulty initiating and responding to social interactions, difficulty understanding social cues, poor eye contact, reduced use of gestures and facial expressions, difficulty understanding friendships, becoming upset to unexpected changes to routine, hyper- or hypo-reactivity to sensory aspects of the environment.