Thursday 7 January 2016
A self-assessment test for autistic adults doesn’t rely on information of instructors, parents and caregivers about the ailment. Adults can fill up the questionnaire themselves.
Scientists have developed a new test that could well be the first effective self-assessment method to understand the core symptom of autism among adults. A recent report in a leading journal on autism and development disorders, states about a newly developed adult repetitive behavior questionnaire. The questionnaire measures repetitive and restricted behavior that makes up the key symptoms of autism, besides the communicative and social challenges. Till now, most of the apparatus used for the research and diagnoses of the disorder relied on parents, instructors, or caregivers for reporting the behavior of an individual having autism conditions. But the new research has developed a test whereby individuals would be able to report about their own behaviors.
Adult diagnosis challenges
Psychologists usually diagnose autism through direct observations and questionnaires that record the opinion of parents and caregivers. The behavioral checklist, however, is designed to assess children and not adults. The latter, by the time they grow up, become adept to hide their symptoms. Also, parents of adults are often deceased, incapacitated, or live at a distant place, are unavailable to fill in questionnaires on early childhood behavior. It thus often becomes difficult to get psychologists who are qualified for evaluating adults on autism, and those who use their own methods.
Assessing restricted and repetitive behavior
Restricted and repetitive behavior include routines and habits like arranging or rearranging objects in a pattern, obsessive fiddling with the objects or insisting that aspects of the daily routine remain the same. The new test indicates when such behaviors become severe or more frequent.
The scientists who developed the self-assessment test for autistic adults, asked 310 Australian and British adults to take the test, to judge its reliability. Half of the sample size were already diagnosed with autism, while the rest were not. Some of those who took the test, and were without autism, showed high tendency for repetitive behavior. Those diagnosed with autism earlier scored significantly high in the test.
The test per se
The self-assessment test for autistic adults, by itself, can’t diagnose the ailment. Restricted and repetitive behavior is just one of the many core symptoms of autism. Communicative and social challenges, and most importantly sensory issues, are the other major indicators. Repetitive behaviors are often associated with conditions like Parkinson’s disease, obsessive-compulsive disorder (OSD), and Tourette syndrome. Adults wondering whether to exhibit repetitive or restricted behaviors, now have a tool for determining whether they need any help. Most often people fail to realize that help is always available for all these behaviors. Hopefully, by analyzing their behavior and extending help, they can live better.
Scientists are evaluating the self-assessment test for autistic adults to identify areas for improvement. The idea is to make the test as comprehensive as possible. The test is likely to be available online to make more people come under its ambit.
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