ADOS-2

Shorthand: AI

Asks for information; specify theme (e.g., AI dog for an individual who asks whether the examiner has a dog).

Shorthand: CM

Complex mannerism

Shorthand: DG or dgest

Descriptive gesture; specify of what (e.g., DG throw for an individual who makes a descriptive throwing gesture)

Shorthand: Dir/Un Voc

Directed/undirected vocalization; note the vocalization: (for the Toddler Module, note the specific vowel/consonant sounds or pairings)

Shorthand: EC or two dots

Eye contact (two dots represent a pair of eyes)

Shorthand: Echo

Immediate echolalia

Shorthand: EG or egest or Emot G

Emotional/emphatic gestures

Shorthand: Ex

Examiner

Shorthand: FE

Facial expression; specify type (e.g., FE antic for a directed look of anticipation)

Shorthand: HM

Hand mannerism; may be helpful to specify type (e.g., HM flap or HM posture)

Shorthand: IJA

Spontaneous initiation of joint attention; may be helpful to specify to what attention was directed (e.g., IJA bubbles)

Shorthand: OI

Offers information; specify theme (e.g., OI videogames)

Shorthand: Pt

Point (also helpful to note when coordinated with eye contact, e.g., Pt + EC)

Shorthand: Req

Request; specify means of requesting (e.g., Req=Pt+EC for a child who pointed and made eye contact with the examiner in order to request)

Shorthand: SE

Shared enjoyment

Shorthand: SIB

Self-injurious behavior

Shorthand: SOV

Social overture (with + or - to indicate the quality of the overture): additional details about the overture are useful for coding (e.g., SOV=Sm+no EC+Show for an individual who smiled at the examiner but did not make eye contact as she held up a block)

Shorthand: VI

Visual inspection; specify to what (e.g., VI disk); rated under D1. Unusual Sensory Interest in Play Material/Person.

Descriptive Gestures

are pantomime actions that are used when trying to describe or represent an action, object, or event for communicative purposes. Examples include casting one’s arm out to show that a man is fishing or holding one’s hands apart to show how big something was. In the ADOS-2, descriptive gestures are considered separately from all other types of gestures.

Conventional Gestures

have a standard social meaning within a particular culture. In North America, these would include shaking one’s head to mean no, nodding to mean yes, waving goodbye, or putting a thumb up to indicate a job well done. These gestures are given meaning by the cultural context in which they occur; different cultures have different conventional gestures. For this reason, it is important that examiners are familiar with gestures that are conventional to the region and population in which they are administering the ADOS-2.

Instrumental Gestures

are intended to achieve a goal, such as beckoning another person to come nearer (e.g., come here) or holding one’s hand out (e.g., begging) to get something. A communicative reach is an instrumental gesture that is given credit in the Toddler Module and Module 1 but not in later modules.

Informational Gestures

are used to convey specific information, such as holding up two fingers to mean two.

Emotional Gestures

express an emotion, such as shaking a fist to show anger, putting one’s arms up and saying “Hooray!” or putting one’s hand to one’s mouth and gasping.

Emphatic Gestures

are hand movements (beats) that are integrated into an individual’s speech to provide emphasis as they are talking. It is important to pay attention to the quality of emphatic gestures, with special consideration to how well the gestures are timed with an individual’s speech and the degree to which the gestures are exaggerated or muted. In Module 4, emphatic and emotional gestures are considered in a separate item from other types of gestures.