ADOS-2 Training with Lucy Sanctuary

Participants must have at least an undergraduate degree in a relevant subject (e.g. psychology, education) and some experience of autism, e.g., relevant work experience. We welcome participants from a range of professional backgrounds, including psychologists, psychiatrists, paediatricians, speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, social workers, nurses, psychotherapists, researchers, and education specialists. If you have any questions about your eligibility to attend the course, click here to contact Lucy.

Yes. You can pay in two installments, but this must be paid at least 3 weeks before the training starts. Please contact Lucy if you wish to discuss this: lucysanctuary109@gmail.com. Alternatively Klarna is a payment method available at checkout.

There are a range of different ADOS-2 courses available. We all cover the information that you need to know about the ADOS-2, it’s history, how it fits in the wider autism assessment, and how to administer and code modules 1-4. I am a very practical clinician, the administration matters a lot to me. I work hard on this in my own practise and share my knowledge and experience with trainees to help them develop their administrative skills. We do a lot of practical, interactive tasks, not just related to coding. Coding is important, obviously, but other skills are too, such as administration, being aware of what the experience is like for parents, children, young people and adults. I am neurodivergent and committed to being authentic and respectful in the assessment process, which includes the ADOS-2. This is part of who I am and part of my training. Trainees do extra activities and tasks related to coding as well as to administration to help practise and develop observational, analytical and reflective skills that help code what you hear and see in ADOS-2 assessments. I give pre and post course tasks, and I offer another session 6 – 8 weeks after the training to answer questions about assessment, to give advice and support. For small groups, I do this individually, not as a group. All my training is smaller than other training groups so that it is easier to get to know each other and to feel comfortable on this learning journey as it is an intense course. 

No, but it really helps if you have. There is a LOT of information on the 2- and 3-day course and if you have seen an ADOS-2 assessment, it will help you to understand some of the information we will be covering and give it a clearer context. I really recommend you try to do this if you can.

If you can’t, do not worry because I give you access to parts of an ADOS-2 assessment to watch before the course, which will help you and you will be able to have access to this after the training for a short time.

After completing the ADOS-2 training, all participants have to complete a post-course accreditation exercise (as described in information about the ADOS-2 training).  The training is an introduction to the ADOS-2, and like learning to drive, practitioners need practise to feel confident using the assessment and coding it live. It is recommended that you shadow colleagues and complete some practice assessments before using the tool in clinical or research work. Administrators are considered ‘reliable’ in their coding when they consistently achieve a minimum of 80% agreement with consensus scores. If the reliability rates are below the required level, it will impact upon the validity of the assessment tool. A good way to become skilled at the ADOS-2 is to film assessments and watch them back, and to have input from a trainer (or another clinician/researcher who has demonstrated that they are consistently reaching a minimum of 80% reliability in line with international calibration).

NHS England maintain that assessment must be carried out by a multi-disciplinary team, and diagnosis is given by a health professional trained in differential diagnosis, e.g., a psychiatrist, paediatrician, or clinical psychologist. However, other professionals are often involved in different aspects of the assessment process, e.g., doing the ADOS-2/ADI-R. It is good clinical practice to have at least two professionals involved in the diagnostic process. Whoever gives the diagnosis should be appropriately trained to consider whether the clinical presentation could be better explained by another condition, e.g., intellectual disability, ADHD, OCD, Conduct Disorder, trauma and stress related disorders. NHS England have published guidelines (2023) with further information (see Appendix B).

It is important that we all code the same things in the same way when we administer the ADOS-2, this is part of the standardisation, so it is essential that administrators do not drift from the coding consensus. You can check reliability by attending reliability workshops. For example:

GAIN (Global Autism Interactive Network) This is American and International trainers who run regular reliability meetings, covering all modules. They are not expensive, and it is a way of making sure you are reliable with the international consensus.

https://psychiatry.weill.cornell.edu/education-training/autism/gain

In the UK, the following reliability training is available:

Marianna Murin and Emma Woodhouse run workshops jointly:  https://www.asdirections.com/

The National Psychology Clinic: https://www.thenationalpsychologyclinic.co.uk/

ADOS2Training run reliability workshops: https://ados2training.co.uk/reliability.html

Some research projects require additional reliability certification. This is a separate process which involves recording and submitting a video of you administering an ADOS-2, along with your coding. A trainer will then go through this video and provide specific feedback on both administration and coding. If you require this, please contact Lucy.

The ADOS-2 manual recommends that administrators attend reliability meetings on a regular basis to check that they are maintaining reliability and not ‘drifting’ with coding and/or administration. There is no specific guidance about the frequency with which ADOS-2 administrators should attend reliability meetings- it is the responsibility of the individual / organisation to decide how often this is required.

Absolutely. If you notify Lucy with what adaptations you need, she will do everything that she can to make sure that training is inclusive and accessible.

Lucy will show you an ADOS kit and use activities from the modules to show you how they are administered, but you do not need one to do the training. You will need access to an ADOS-2 kit to administer the assessment after the training, but most organisations have kits. The kit is part of the standardised conditions, so it is very important that you use it to do the assessment.

You don’t need a manual to do the course, but it is advisable to have one, it is very informative and gives you much more information than the module forms do. Many organisations have these, but you might want to buy your own.

Lucy will give you module forms to use during the training and for the post-course coding that you are required to do.

You can contact Lucy with questions, you can find a supervisor, e.g., a more experienced clinician at your workplace, or a trainer, and you can attend reliability meetings, as described above.