Episode
The Evolution of Assessment: It's More Than Just a Score
- Podcast
- Neurodiversity Podcast
- Published
- Jul 29, 2026
- Duration seconds
- 2157
- Processing state
not_requested
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Summary
As public understanding of neurodiversity continues to grow, evaluators face a shifting landscape when assessing clients whose traits don't match traditional, less nuanced pictures of autism. Many individuals—especially women and girls—learn to navigate daily social interactions through pattern recognition and learned strategies rather than intuitive processing, masking their traits enough to miss early identification. Dr. Jeremy Sharp, a licensed psychologist, founder of the Colorado Center for Assessment, and host of the Testing Psychologist Podcast, joins Emily to unpack the realities of camouflaging and what it takes to catch these less obvious presentations during a diagnostic evaluation. TAKEAWAYS The increasing prevalence of self-identification and online research requires evaluators to look beyond traditional, high-support presentation models when assessing for autism. Camouflaging and masking rely on active cognitive problem-solving and pattern recognition rather than intuitive social processing, creating high internal fatigue that standard testing environments can miss. Structured, one-on-one assessment settings can artificially boost a person's immediate social performance, making ambiguous or unstructured interactions essential during clinical observations. Traditional assessment tools like the ADOS can be less sensitive when evaluating females, who often demonstrate higher surface social fluency and culturally common special interests. Arriving at an accurate diagnostic picture requires gathering broad collateral information from parents, partners, and teachers rather than relying on a single test score. You can register now for our upcoming continuing education course for mental health professionals, Clinical Implications of Late-Identified Neurodivergenc…