The Asperger Syndrome (and high-functioning autism) Diagnostic Interview (ASDI), A preliminary study of a new structured clinical interview

By Gillberg,C. and Gillberg, C., Rastam, M and Wentz, E. (2001) Autism Vol 5(1), 57-66.

The development of the Asperger Syndrome (and high-functioning autism) Diagnostic Interview (ASDI) is described. Preliminary data from a clinical study suggest that inter-rater reliability and test-retest stability may be excellent, with kappas exceeding 0.90 in both instances. The validity appears to be relatively good.

Development of the ASDI
The interview was developed over several years on the basis of experience with several hundred patients with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders, including a large number with Autistic Psychopathy, Sschizoid Personality Disorder and Asperger Syndrome.

The set of operationalised criteria was based on Asperger’s first case histories (Asperger, 1944) and was gradually reworked so as to make them all fit the criteria (Gillberg, 1991). The six criteria comprise twenty different items (four Social, three Interests, two Routines, five Verbal and Speech, five Non-verbal Communication and one Motor.