Differential Diagnosis of ASD: Best Practice Elements of a Comprehensive Evaluation

Understand how social communication abnormalities, restricted and repetitive behaviors, and developmental histories of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may be similar or different compared to children with other diagnoses.

Description

The purpose of this workshop is to help clinicians understand how social communication abnormalities, restricted and repetitive behaviors, and developmental histories of children with ASD may be similar or different compared to children with other diagnoses (e.g., intellectual disability, language disorder, genetic syndromes) who commonly present for ASD evaluation in early childhood. The workshop will also discuss the uses and limitations of currently available ASD assessment tools, including sensitivity and specificity when used in different subgroups of young children.

We will present recent research, including studies detailing the use of specific diagnostic instruments in particular populations, as well as clinical case examples and video clips about diagnostically differentiating behaviors.

The target audience for this workshop is clinicians and researchers involved in the diagnostic assessment of autism spectrum disorders (ASD).

Presenters

  • Dr. Somer Bishop, PhD

    Professor in Residence
    Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science
    Weill Institute for Neurosciences
    Center for ASD and NDDs
    University of California San Francisco

  • Dr. Amy Esler, PhD, LP

    Professor
    Division of Clinical Behavioral Neuroscience
    Faculty, Department of Pediatrics
    Faculty, Center for Neurobehavioral Development
    University of Minnesota Medical School

Session Details

  • Date: October 10, 2025
  • Time:
    11 AM - 3 PM Eastern Time USA
    10 AM - 2 PM Central Time USA
    9 AM - 1 PM Mountain Time USA
    8 AM - 12 PM Pacific Time USA
  • Format: Online webinar via Zoom

Cost

Cost varies based on your affiliation:

  • Internal rate (KU only): $129
  • Academic rate (educational institutions and non-profits): $197
  • Market rate: $387
     
PURCHASE

Objectives

  • Identify issues to consider when attempting to differentiate between ASD and other disorders associated with social communication deficits and/or restricted and repetitive behaviors.
  • Utilize recent research, including studies detailing the use of specific diagnostic instruments in different subgroups of young children.
  • Describe how social communication abnormalities, restricted and repetitive behaviors, and developmental histories of children with ASD may be similar or different compared to children with other diagnoses.

Prerequisites

This workshop is intended for clinicians and researchers involved in the diagnostic assessment of ASD.

Continuing Education credits

CE credits are available as an option at time of purchase, and must be added at time of purchase. Note that online CE contact hours will be awarded to licensed professionals who have met the attendance requirements. See Continuing Education for more information and specifics of eligibility. This workshop is worth 4 CEs.

SPEAKER DISCLOSURES

Western Psychological Services (WPS), publisher of the ADOS-2, does not fund the GAIN program. GAIN focuses on the ADOS-2 only and will not include explicit training on other instruments. Dr. Somer Bishop receives honoraria from WPS as an author of the ADOS-2. This will not influence her discussion and she will not make recommendations for commercial products. She has no non-financial disclosures related to ADOS-2.

REFERENCES

  • Richard, A. E., Hodges, E. K., & Carlson, M. D. (2019). Differential diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder versus language disorder in children ages 2 to 5 years: Contributions of parent-reported development and behavior. Clinical Pediatrics, 58(11-12), 1232-1238.
  • Lord, C., Brugha, T. S., Charman, T., Cusack, J., Dumas, G., Frazier, T., ... & Veenstra-VanderWeele, J. (2020). Autism spectrum disorder. Nature reviews Disease primers, 6(1), 1-23.
  • Rosen, N. E., Lord, C., & Volkmar, F. R. (2021). The diagnosis of autism: From Kanner to DSM-III to DSM-5 and beyond. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 51, 4253-4270.
  • Thurm, A., Farmer, C., Salzman, E., Lord, C., & Bishop, S. (2019). State of the field: Differentiating intellectual disability from autism spectrum disorder. Frontiers in psychiatry, 10, 526.
  • Thurm, A., Bishop, S., & Giserman-Kiss, I. (2022). Effects of Cognition and Age on Assessment of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disabilities. In Handbook of Autism and Pervasive Developmental Disorder: Assessment, Diagnosis, and Treatment (pp. 303-323). Cham: Springer International Publishing.