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GARS-2: Gilliam Autism Rating Scale — Second Edition (12160) 

Our Price: $148.00

Ages: 3 through 22
Testing Time: 5 to 10 minutes
Administration: Individual

The GARS-2, a revision of the popular Gilliam Autism Rating Scale, is a norm-referenced instrument that assists teachers, parents, and clinicians in identifying and diagnosing autism in individuals ages 3 through 22 and in estimating the severity of the child's disorder. Items on the GARS-2 are based on the definitions of autism adopted by the Autism Society of America and the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders: Fourth Edition-Text Revision (DSM-IV-TR). The instrument consists of 42 clearly stated items describing the characteristic behaviors of persons with autism. The items are grouped into three subscales: Stereotyped Behaviors, Communication, and Social Interaction. Using objective, frequency-based ratings, the entire scale can be completed and scored in 5 to 10 minutes. A structured interview form is included for gathering diagnostically important information from the child's parents.

The GARS-2 was normed on a representative sample of 1,107 persons with autism from 48 states within the United States. The GARS-2 has strong psychometric characteristics that were confirmed through studies of the test's reliability and validity. Coefficients of reliability (internal consistency and test-retest) for the subscales and entire test are all large to very large in magnitude. The validity of the GARS-2 was demonstrated by confirming that: (a) the items of the subscales are representative of the characteristics of autism; (b) the subscales are strongly related to each other and to performance of other tests that screen for autism; and (c) the GARS-2 standard scores discriminates persons with autism from persons with other severe behavioral disorders such as persons with mental retardation and multi-disabilities.

The GARS-2 has been improved in the following ways:  

1. A structured parent interview form replaces the Early Development subscale providing examiners with diagnostically significant information about the child's development during early childhood.  
2. Some items were rewritten for clarity or to remove ambiguity.  
3. Demographic characteristics of the normative sample are keyed to the 2000 U.S. census data.  
4. All new norms were created and the normative sample is more clearly described.  
5. The total score on the GARS-2 was changed from Autism Quotient to Autism Index.  
6. Guidelines for interpreting subscale scores and the Autism Index were changed.  
7. A separate chapter is provided in the test manual providing multiple discreet target behaviors for each item on the GARS-2. The discreet behaviors are operationally defined and specific examples are given for applied research projects and other research purposes.  
8. A separate booklet, Instructional Objectives for Children Who Have Autism, is included in the test kit to assist in the formulation of instructional goals and objectives based on the results from the GARS-2 assessment. In this way, instruction can be directly related to assessment results from the GARS-2.

Complete GARS-2 Kit includes: Examiner's Manual, 50 Summary/Response Booklets, and the Instructional Objectives manual, all in a sturdy storage box. (©2006)