Overview
Monteiro, 2018) is a sensory-based, systematic, and organized process for gathering and organizing the qualitative information needed to diagnose autism in children, adolescents, and adults. It can be used to assess children as young as toddlers or preschool-age (who can engage in sensory-based play) through adult-age. Compared with its predecessor, the MIGDAS-2 permits evaluation of persons across a broader range of ages and abilities. Information gathered focuses on three key areas of development affected by ASD: Sensory Use and Interests, Language and Communication, and Social Relationships and Emotional Responses. Guidelines for gathering information from parents/caregivers and teachers, and for conducting a sensory-based interview with the individual being evaluated are included. Outcomes of the use of this instrument include a comprehensive behavioral profile that describes individuals’ distinct way of relating to the world; this information is supplementary to assessment scores in that it helps to inform diagnosis and treatment planning. The MIGDAS-2 is designed to facilitate writing a narrative evaluation report and providing diagnostic feedback using language that can be easily understood by those involved with evaluated individuals.
This tool can be used by both independent evaluators and by evaluation teams and is useful in settings such as schools, private practice, and hospitals. Multiple sources of information are considered, and the MIGDAS-2 process helps to integrate such information. Delineation of comorbid conditions and differential diagnoses is also central to the MIGDAS-2. Five evaluation protocols are included: Parent/Caregiver Questionnaire, Teacher Questionnaire, and three Diagnostic Interview options (for Individuals with Limited to No Verbal Fluency [for those with limited language and accompanying intellectual impairment], for Children and Adolescents with Verbal Fluency, and for Adults with Verbal Fluency). Parent/Caregiver and Teacher questionnaires can be used for in-person interviews or as forms these stakeholders complete directly on the questionnaire. The interview protocols provide guidelines for collecting and documenting behavioral samples, and these require use of common, sensory-based toys and materials which are not included in the kit purchase but are described in the manual.
Summary
Age: 3 years to 99 years
Time to Administer: 30-90 mins., depending on format
Method of Administration: Individually-administered; parent/caregiver and teacher questionnaires can be administered as interviews or in written format; three forms of diagnostic interviews are available, depending on the level of language development of the evaluated individual.
Yields qualitative descriptions in three areas.
Subscales: Language and Communication; Social Relationships and Emotional Responses; and Sensory Use and Interests
Screening/Diagnosis: D