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Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)3

Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) Test

Understand the severity of autism-related symptoms in children ages 6 to 12 in about 2 minutes. Get clear, quantitative results that support care planning across a wide range of abilities.

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Questions: 102 minutes

08:30

October 2, 2025

October 2, 2025
Material has been updated

October 2, 2025
Material has been published

16,630 views

1,009 completions

845 likes

Verified by Daniel Hall

Psychologist with 25 years of experience

Scale Explorer

How the Scales are Structured

example score

21/40

Childhood Autism Rating Scale Total Score (CARSTS)

Measures the severity of autistic traits in children by providing a quantitative symptom level score.

Minimal–Mild traits

Moderate traits

Severe–Profound traits

10 – 20.5: Minimal–Mild traits | 20.5 – 28.5: Moderate traits | 28.5 – 40: Severe–Profound traits

A score of 21 falls in the Moderate traits range, indicating a moderate level of autistic symptom manifestations on this scale.

example score

2/4

Aggression And Self-Injury (AASI)

Measures the severity of aggressive and self-aggressive behaviors that may affect a child's adaptation in the context of autistic symptoms.

Low

High

1 – 2: Low | 3 – 4: High

A score of 2 falls in the Low range, indicating mild or infrequent aggression or self-aggression as observed during the assessment.

example score

2/4

Sleep Disturbances (SD)

Assesses the presence and severity of sleep disturbances commonly observed in children with autism spectrum features.

Minimal/None

Mild to Moderate

Severe

1: Minimal/None | 2 – 3: Mild to Moderate | 4: Severe

A score of 2 suggests mild to moderate sleep-related difficulties are present.

example score

2/4

Presence of Fears (PoF)

Assesses the presence and severity of fears that may accompany autistic-spectrum symptoms in children.

Low/Absent

Moderate

High

1: Low/Absent | 2 – 3: Moderate | 4: High

A score of 2 indicates a moderate level of fears that are present but not prominent.

example score

2/4

Presence of Stereotyped Behaviors (PoSB)

Assesses how strongly the child shows stereotyped, rigid patterns of behavior and restricted interests.

Minimal

Moderate

Marked

1: Minimal | 2 – 3: Moderate | 4: Marked

A score of 2 indicates a moderate presence of stereotyped or rigid behavior patterns that are observable but not pervasive across situations.

example score

2/4

Adaptation to Change (AtC)

Measures how well the child adapts to changes in environment, routine, and expectations.

Low flexibility

Better flexibility

1 – 2: Low flexibility | 3 – 4: Better flexibility

A score of 2 suggests low flexibility, with noticeable difficulty adjusting to routine or environmental changes.

example score

2/4

Impairments in Dialogue (IiD)

Assesses the degree of difficulty a child shows in sustaining flexible, synchronized, and emotionally responsive back-and-forth dialogue.

Mild

Moderate–Severe

1 – 2: Mild | 3 – 4: Moderate–Severe

A score of 2 suggests mild disruptions in dialogue, with some difficulties in reciprocity or emotional responsiveness while basic conversational exchange is generally possible.

example score

3/4

Speech Structure and Development Impairments (SSaDI)

Assesses the degree of impairment in the structure and developmental progression of a child’s speech skills.

Mild/No notable impairment

Moderate impairment

Severe impairment

1 – 2: Mild/No notable impairment | 3: Moderate impairment | 4: Severe impairment

A score of 3 indicates a moderate level of difficulty in speech structure and developmental speech skill formation.

example score

3/4

Impairments in Understanding Social Rules and Roles (IiUSRaR)

Measures how well the child understands and follows age-appropriate social rules and roles in everyday interactions.

Minimal difficulties

Notable difficulties

Marked difficulties

1 – 2: Minimal difficulties | 3: Notable difficulties | 4: Marked difficulties

A score of 3 indicates notable difficulties understanding and applying social rules and roles, which may affect adaptation across common social situations.

example score

3/4

Impairments in Cooperative Activity (IiCA)

Measures the degree of difficulty a child shows in collaborating with others during shared play and group interactions.

Low impairment

Moderate impairment

High impairment

1 – 2: Low impairment | 3: Moderate impairment | 4: High impairment

A score of 3 indicates moderate difficulties with collaborative activities, such as limited or inconsistent participation in group games and interactions.

example score

3/4

Communication Impairments (CI)

Assesses the severity of a child’s communication difficulties, including initiating and maintaining social contact.

Mild

Moderate

Severe

1 – 2: Mild | 3: Moderate | 4: Severe

A score of 3 indicates moderate communication difficulties, suggesting noticeable challenges in establishing and sustaining social interaction.

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DATA-BASED USER COHORTS

Who Usually Takes This Test?

School psychologists and clinicians

46%OF USERS

Professionals use it to quickly rate autism symptom severity in children aged 6–12 to guide support planning and track change.

Parents seeking clarity

34%OF USERS

Caregivers take it to better understand how pronounced a child’s autism-related behaviors may be and what to discuss next with specialists.

Special education teams

20%OF USERS

Teachers and support staff use it to document functional impact in the classroom and help tailor learning and behavioral supports.

BASED ON AGGREGATED, ANONYMIZED DATA FROM TENS OF THOUSANDS OF FREUDLY USERS.

Benchmarking

See How You Compare

Once you complete the test, your results are compared with real-world data from people in your country.
Below is a preview of how scores are typically distributed across each scale.

Quantitative Scale for Assessing Childhood Autism (QSfACA)

Average

24.9

Normal range

19.9 — 30

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Aggression and Self-Aggression (AaS)

Average

2.8

Normal range

2.4 — 3.2

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Sleep Disorders (SD)

Average

2.7

Normal range

2.2 — 3.2

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Presence of Fears (PoF)

Average

2.5

Normal range

2 — 2.9

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Presence of stereotypical activity patterns (Posap)

Average

1.9

Normal range

1.4 — 2.5

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Adapting to Change (AtC)

Average

2.7

Normal range

2.2 — 3.3

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Disruptions in Dialogue (DiD)

Average

2.6

Normal range

2.1 — 3

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Disorders of Speech Structure and Development (DoSSaD)

Average

2.4

Normal range

1.8 — 3

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Impairments in Understanding Social Rules and Roles (IiUSRaR)

Average

2.1

Normal range

1.7 — 2.5

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Impairments in Collaborative Ability (IiCA)

Average

2.1

Normal range

1.7 — 2.6

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

Communication Disorders (CD)

Average

3.1

Normal range

2.6 — 3.6

min.

max.

This curve shows how scores are typically distributed.
Once you complete the test, your result will appear on the scale so you can see how you compare.

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SAMPLE QUESTIONS

Example Questions From the Test

The assessment may be conducted using any information that reflects the child’s behavior during the time period of interest (as close as possible to the time of testing), including results of a psychologist’s evaluation, information provided by parents, observations by educators and healthcare personnel, and, of course, the examiner’s own observations at the time of the assessment.

- These signs are absent.
- 5 – Shows one to two of the listed signs very rarely; otherwise behavior remains within normal limits.
- Three to four signs are present but the child does not show them in all situations.
- 5 – One to two signs are clearly present and occur often.
- Three to four signs are clearly present and occur often.
- 5 – These signs make contact with the child intermittent and mostly productive only for activities the child currently wants to do.
- These signs make contact with the child impossible for engaging them in purposeful activity.
- No signs of impairment are present.
- 5 – Shows 1–2 of the listed signs very rarely; otherwise behavior remains within normal limits.
- Three or four signs are present, but the child does not show them in all situations.
- 5 – One or two signs are clearly present and occur often.
- The signs are fully present and constant, but with adult persistence the child can repeat something or follow instructions.
- 5 – These signs make the child productive only in the activity the child wants to do at the moment.
- These signs indicate that the child cannot be engaged in shared activity.
- These features are absent.
- 5 – Shows one to two of the listed features very rarely; otherwise behavior remains within normal limits.
- Three to four features are observed, and the child does not show them in all situations.
- 5 – One to two features are clearly present and occur often.
- These features are present fully and consistently, but with persistent adult guidance the child can correct behavior and follow rules; however, without organizing influence the child again ignores rules.
- 5 – These features make it difficult to attend public events with the child or for the child to be in a group of children.
- These features make the child’s behavior unmanageable.

These are 3 of the 10 real questions — the rest appear in the test. No sign-up needed to start.

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WHAT THE TEST MEASURES

About This Assessment

Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) Test - Symptoms and Signs

autism

This measure is used to support a rapid, structured appraisal of the severity of autism-related symptoms in school-age children. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) provides a clinician-rated estimate of overall symptom severity based on observed behaviors and available developmental information.

It consists of 10 items and typically takes about 2 minutes to complete. Scores are intended to quantify level of impairment across core domains relevant to autism spectrum presentations and to inform clinical documentation and care planning; they are not designed to establish etiologic subtypes or serve as a standalone differential diagnostic tool. The Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) was developed by Eric Schopler and Robert J. Reichler.

Author: Eric Schopler, Robert J. Reichler

Literature: Lord, C., Rutter, M., DiLavore, P. C., & Risi, S. Autism diagnostic observation schedule (ADOS). Western Psychological Services. 2002.; Rutter, M., Le Couteur, A., & Lord, C. Autism diagnostic interview-revised (ADI-R) manual. Western Psychological Services. 2003.