The Asperger Syndrome Diagnostic Scale (ASDS) is a quick, easy-to-use rating scale that can help you determine whether a child has Asperger Syndrome. Anyone who knows the child or youth well can complete this scale.

Parents, teachers, siblings, paraeducators, speech & language pathologists, psychologists, psychiatrists, and other professionals can answer the 50 yes/no items in 10 to 15 minutes. Designed to identify Asperger Syndrome in children ages 5 through 18, this instrument provides an AS Quotient that tells the likelihood that an individual has Asperger Syndrome.

The 50 items that comprise the ASDS were drawn from five specific areas of behavior:

• cognitive

• maladaptive

• language

• social

• sensorimotor

Symptomatic of Asperger Syndrome

All items included in the ASDS represent behaviours that are symptomatic of Asperger Syndrome and all are summed to produce the total score. The scores from the five subtests present the examiner with information of clinical interest regarding an individual's performance in comparison to that of others with Asperger Syndrome. The total score has strong diagnostic value in identifying individuals with Asperger Syndrome and is the only score to be used when determining the likelihood of Asperger Syndrome. This contributes greatly to ease of administration and cuts down on otherwise time-consuming testing procedures.