ADOS Assessment Template
This AI-enabled Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition (ADOS-2) assessment template is a comprehensive tool designed to help psychologists document observations during autism evaluations. With Heidi, this template empowers psychologists to:
- Capture key social communication behaviors during the ADOS-2 session, including verbal and non-verbal communication patterns, interaction quality, and emotional engagement with the examiner.
- Identify strengths and challenges across core domains such as eye contact, facial expressions, joint attention, imaginative play, and restricted or repetitive behaviors.
- Outline diagnostic observations, including level of rapport, insight into social relationships, stereotyped behaviors, and symptom severity based on ASD diagnostic criteria.
What is an ADOS Assessment Template?
An ADOS Assessment Template is a structured document used by clinicians to take note of observations and evaluations during an Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) assessment. The ADOS is a standardized tool for diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) across different age groups and language levels.
These templates are developed by licensed clinicians, psychologists, or healthcare organizations to align with the structure of the current ADOS protocol, ADOS-2.
ADOS assessment templates are essential for ensuring consistency, accuracy, and completeness in documenting observations during autism evaluations. A structured format aligned with standardized criteria helps clinicians identify behavioral patterns, compare results across sessions or individuals, and support reliable diagnoses.
In this article, we’ll explain the criteria for ADOS assessment templates, the classification and diagnostic systems DSM-5 and ICD-11 and their role in autism diagnosis, the key components of effective ADOS templates, a step-by-step guide to using them and ready-to-use templates in your daily practice.
Criteria for ADOS Assessment Templates
An effective ADOS assessment template must align with the ADOS-2 modules; each tailored for different ages and language abilities across patients. It should include dedicated fields to document key behavioral domains in the DSM-5 criteria such as communication, social interaction, imagination, and restricted or repetitive behaviors, while also reflecting the ADOS scoring structure and behavioral coding format.
To ensure diagnostic accuracy, ADOS assessment templates should also look to established frameworks such as DSM-5 and ICD-11 for reference:
DSM-5 Explained
DSM-5 is the fifth and most recent edition of a standardized diagnostic criteria for mental disorders, including ASD. Though it’s published by the American Psychiatric Association (APA) and is primarily used in the United States, it’s an internationally recognized resource used by clinicians and researchers globally.
The DSM-5 contains clear and detailed descriptions of mental health conditions, as well as the signs and symptoms associated with them; making it easier for healthcare providers to accurately diagnose conditions.
ICD-11 Explained
ICD-11, also known as the International Classification of Diseases, 11th Revision, is a global diagnostic system developed by the World Health Organization (WHO) to classify and code health conditions, including physical, mental, and neurodevelopmental disorders.
It was created to support clinical diagnosis, health data reporting, and global health research by providing a standardized language for healthcare systems worldwide.
What ADOS-2 Score Indicates Autism?
Each ADOS-2 module has its own scoring algorithm and diagnostic threshold. Generally, however, a total score at or above the clinical cut-off suggests an ASD diagnosis. For example, in Module 3, used for verbally fluent children and adolescents, a total score of 8 or more on the algorithm often indicates the presence of autism, while scores between 7 and 8 may be interpreted as falling within the broader autism spectrum.
It’s important to note that ADOS-2 is not a standalone diagnostic tool. Scores must be interpreted alongside the patient's developmental history, other applicable assessment results and the diagnostic frameworks DSM-5 or ICD-11 for the most accurate diagnosis.
The efficiency of clinical documentation plays a significant role in ensuring accurate and timely ADOS assessments. The entire process of completing them can be time-consuming, especially when it involves a lot of manual note-taking.
Before using Heidi, clinicians at MaineGeneral Health faced the same familiar drag of documentation: finishing visits, then staying behind to catch up on notes, reviews, and the small edits needed to make everything complete and compliant. But with AI-powered transcription and structured outputs built into their workflow, Heidi helped remove that end-of-day backlog and support broader, measurable adoption across the organization (including reported 98% adoption in an early rollout).
Mark St. John, MaineGeneral Health’s CIO, shares, “We see Heidi as a partner helping us deliver measurable transformation to our organization, making us more resilient as we face the many challenges in our industry.” This reflects Heidi's impact beyond speed: supporting consistent documentation habits at scale and giving clinicians more capacity to focus on patient care rather than paperwork.
Key Components of Effective ADOS Assessment Templates with Examples
An effective ADOS assessment template should provide clinicians with a structured yet flexible framework that allows them to capture detailed observations and align them with ADOS-2 scoring criteria. Below are the most essential components of ADOS assessments explained:
Language and Communication
The opening section covers verbal and non-verbal communication behaviors since they are central to identifying social-communication differences that characterize ASD. This should include text fields to note the frequency, quality, and clarity of verbal communication and have prompts for documenting the patient’s use of echolalia, jargon, and unusual pitch or intonation.
Non-verbal communication cues such as gestures, pointing, and body language, are also detailed in this section.
Example ADOS notes:
Alex demonstrated frequent verbal communication with clear articulation, though there was occasional echolalia. The quality of language was generally appropriate, with some use of jargon. Non-verbal communication included limited gestures and pointing.
Reciprocal Social Interaction
Social reciprocity helps clinicians assess how a child or adult engages with others, including emotional connection and awareness of social cues. This is why the subsequent section covers behaviors related to social engagement, emotional responsiveness, and interpersonal awareness.
This section should also include clinician prompts for observing eye contact, facial expressions, and social smiling, along with a checklist or narrative field for observations regarding shared enjoyment, response to name, and use of joint attention.
Example ADOS notes:
Alex displayed inconsistent eye contact and had a limited range of facial expressions. Shared enjoyment was observed during specific activities, though responses to names were delayed. Social overtures were present but lacked depth. Alex showed difficulty in recognizing and expressing emotions, often requiring prompts to react appropriately in social interactions.
Imagination and Play
The third section focuses on the presence (or absence) of imaginative behaviors from the patient, along with their observed creativity in play-based scenarios, since these are key indicators of flexible thinking, creativity, and social development in younger patients.
Include prompts for describing the patient’s reaction to pretend play and role-playing and text fields to note their use of objects in imaginative or symbolic ways.
Example ADOS notes:
Alex showed creativity during play, engaging in pretend play with some imaginative elements.
Stereotyped Behaviors and Restricted Interests
Repetitive behaviors and restricted interests are hallmark features of ASD and must be observed for diagnostic accuracy. Dedicate a section for documenting the patient’s repetitive, sensory-seeking, or fixated behaviors.
A checklist for physical mannerisms or any unusual motor movements and text fields for observing repetitive themes, topics, unusual sensory interests, or self-injurious behaviors would be an essential include here.
Example ADOS notes:
Alex exhibited hand-flapping and repetitive actions, with a strong fixation on specific topics such as trains.
Overall Impression and Diagnostic Summary
The clinician’s diagnostic summary ties together all behavioral data and clinical judgment, forming the basis for the next steps and the patient’s support needs. The concluding section should therefore support diagnostic reasoning by summarizing patterns and linking observations to clinical frameworks.
Include a free text section for the clinician’s summary of behavior, and the patient’s support needs, as well as prompts to indicate whether ADOS scores meet the diagnostic threshold for ASD. Clinicians should also include notes on how their observed behavior aligns with DSM-5 and/or ICD-11 criteria.
Example ADOS notes:
Based on ADOS-2 scores, Alex meets the criteria for an Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis. Autism symptoms are consistent with other children diagnosed with ASD, indicating a moderate level of support is required.
ADOS Assessment Template Example
You can download a copy of this document, or auto-fill it seamlessly with Heidi, your AI care partner.
It’s difficult to observe patients for signs of ASD while simultaneously writing notes. This often leads to missed details, inconsistent documentation, and added stress during assessments.
Heidi streamlines this process, giving clinicians a faster and more accurate way to complete ADOS assessment notes without the manual overhead.
Easily Complete ADOS Assessment Templates with Heidi
Heidi is an AI care partner that helps clinicians take observations, generate structured assessment notes and produce follow-up documentation in real time. With your patient’s or their guardian’s permission, simply hit “Transcribe” and let the tool work as you go. Here’s how Heidi helps you complete your ADOS assessment notes:
- Transcribe – Open Heidi on your computer or mobile device and press Start so Heidi can capture your conversation in the background. For information that you don’t want to verbalize, you can type it under context notes to be considered later.
- Customize – Post-session, simply select your preferred ADOS assessment template and watch as Heidi perfectly transcribes the details of our observation and context notes in the appropriate format!
- Transform – After generating your completed ADOS assessment, you can ask Heidi to give additional documentation, including clinical notes as needed.
Heidi complies with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) and applicable US data privacy regulations, ensuring your patient information is stored and processed securely.
Free ADOS Assessment Templates
Adult ADOS Assessment Report Template
This Adult ADOS Assessment Report template is designed to assist clinical psychologists and psychiatrists in outlining a patient’s developmental history, along with their professional observations, ADOS-2 scoring and interpretation, and notes on follow-up appointments and further recommendations during autism spectrum assessment sessions.
The usual ADOS assessment session takes between 40 to 60 minutes depending on the module being used, and the patient’s level of communication and engagement.