Abstract
In order to start providing important early intervention services to preschoolers and toddlers with autism, those children first need to be identified. Despite the availability of specialized autism assessment instruments, there is a need for effective screeners at the early childhood level. Three broadband behavior rating scales were evaluated in this study to determine if any of the scales on the instruments could adequately distinguish between children with autism from other clinically referred children. There were four scales from two instruments that resulted in mean scores outside the average range and had statistically significant differences. However, the small mean score differences and analyses of sensitivity and specificity suggest those scales have limited practical usefulness when used by clinicians.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Achenbach, T. M. (1991). Manual for the child behavior checklist/4-18 and 1991 profile. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont Department of Psychiatry.
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2000). Manual for the ASEBA preschool forms and profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.
Achenbach, T. M., & Rescorla, L. A. (2001). Manual for the ASEBA school-age forms and profiles. Burlington, VT: University of Vermont, Research Center for Children, Youth, and Families.
Biederman, J., Petty, C. R., Fried, R., Wozniak, J., Micco, J. A., Henin, A., et al. (2010). Child behavior checklist clinical scales discriminate referred youth with autism spectrum disorder: A preliminary study. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 31, 485–490.
Bracken, B. A., & Keith, L. K. (2004). Clinical assessment of behavior professional manual. Lutz, FL: Psychological Assessment Resources Inc.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (2012). Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorders—Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 14 Sites, United States, 2008. Retrieved from http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/ss6103a1.htm?s_cid=ss6103a1_w.
Chafouleas, S., Riley-Tillman, T. C., & Sugai, G. (2007). School-based behavioral assessment: Informing interventions and instructions. New York, NY: Guilford Press.
Charman, T. (2003). Screening and surveillance for autism spectrum disorder in research and practice. Early Child Development and Care, 173, 363–374.
Cicchetti, D., Volkmar, F., Klin, A., & Showalter, D. (1995). Diagnosing autism using ICD-10 criteria: A comparison of neural networks and standard multivariate procedures. Child Neuropsychology, 1, 26–37.
Cohen, J. (1992). A power primer. Psychological Bulletin, 112, 155–159.
Constantino, J. N., Davis, S. A., Todd, R. D., Schindler, M. K., Gross, M. M., Brophy, S. L., et al. (2003). Validation of a brief quantitative measure of autistic traits: Comparison of the social responsiveness scale with the autism diagnostic interview-revised. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33, 427–433.
Coonrod, E. E., & Stone, W. L. (2005). Screening for autism in young children. In F. R. Volkmar, R. Paul, A. Klin, & D. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders: Vol. 2. assessment, interventions, and policy (3rd ed., pp. 707–729). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Duarte, C. S., Bordin, I. A. S., Oliveira, A., & Bird, H. (2003). The CBCL and the identification of children with autism and related conditions in Brazil: Pilot findings. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 33, 703–707.
Goldstein, S., & Naglieri, J. A. (2010). Autism spectrum rating scales. North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems Inc.
Hass, M. R., Brown, R. S., Brady, J., & Johnson, D. B. (2012). Validating the BASC-TRS for use with children and adolescents with an educational diagnosis of autism. Remedial and Special Education, 33, 173–183.
Kamp-Becker, I., Ghahreman, M., Heinzel-Gutenbrunner, M., Peters, M., Remschmidt, H., & Becker, K. (2011). Evaluation of the revised algorithm of autism diagnostic observation schedule (ADOS) in the diagnostic investigation of high-functioning children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders. Autism, 15, 1–20. doi:10.1177/1362361311408932.
Lord, C., & Corsello, C. (2005). Diagnostic instruments in autistic spectrum disorders. In F. R. Volkmar, R. Paul, A. Klin, & D. Cohen (Eds.), Handbook of autism and pervasive developmental disorders: Vol. 2. assessment, interventions, and policy (3rd ed., pp. 730–771). Hoboken, NJ: Wiley.
Lord, C., & Risi, S. (1998). Frameworks and methods in diagnosing autism spectrum disorders. Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities, Research Reviews, 4, 90–96.
Lord, C., Risi, S., Lambrecht, L., Cook, E. H., Leventhal, B. L., DiLavore, P. C., et al. (2000). The autism diagnostic observation schedule-generic: A standard measure of social and communication deficits associated with the spectrum of autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 30, 205–223.
Lord, C., Rutter, M., DiLavore, P. C., Risi, S., Gotham, K., & Bishop, S. L. (2012). Autism diagnostic observation schedule, second edition (ADOS-2) manual (Part I): modules 1–4. Torrance, CA: Western Psychological Services.
Lord, C., Rutter, M., & Le Couteur, A. (1994). Autism diagnostic interview, revised: A revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 24, 659–685.
Lovaas, O. I. (2003). Teaching individuals with developmental delays: Basic intervention techniques. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
Mazefsky, C. A., Anderson, R., Conner, C. M., & Minshew, N. (2011). Child behavior checklist scores for school-aged children with autism: Preliminary evidence of patterns suggesting the need for referral. Journal of Psychopathology and Behavioral Assessment, 33, 31–37.
McConachie, H., Le Couteur, A., & Honey, E. (2005). Can a diagnosis of Asperger syndrome be made in very young children with suspected autism spectrum disorder? Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 35, 167–176.
Merrell, K. W. (2008). Behavioral, social, and emotional assessment of children and adolescents (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Muratori, F., Narzisi, R., Tancredi, A., Cosenza, S., Calugi, I., Saviozzi, E., et al. (2011). The CBCL 1.5-5 and the identification of preschoolers with autism in Italy. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences, 20, 329–338. doi:10.1017/S204579601100045x.
Myers, C. L. (2013). Comparing results from the clinical assessment of behavior and child behavior checklist with referred preschoolers. Psychology in the Schools, 50, 1–12.
Myers, C. L., Bour, J. L., Sidebottom, K. J., Murphy, S. B., & Hakman, M. (2010). Same constructs, different results: Examining the consistency of two behavior rating scales with referred preschoolers. Psychology in the Schools, 47, 205–229.
National Research Council. (2001). Educating children with autism. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Ooi, Y. P., Rescorla, L., Ang, R. P., Woo, B., & Fung, D. S. (2011). Identification of autism spectrum disorders using the Child behavior checklist in Singapore. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 41, 1147–1156. doi:10.1007/s10803-010-1015-x.
Reynolds, C. R., & Kamphaus, R. W. (2004). Behavior assessment system for children-second edition. Circle Pines, MN: AGS Publishing.
Rutter, M., Le Couteur, A., & Lord, C. (2003). Autism diagnostic interview—revised. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services.
Shapiro, E. S., & Heick, P. F. (2004). School psychologist assessment practices in the evaluation of students referred for social/behavior/emotional problems. Psychology in the Schools, 41, 551–561.
Shattuck, P. T., Durkin, M., Maenner, M., Newschaffer, C., Mandell, D. S., Wiggins, L., et al. (2009). Timing of identification among children with an autism spectrum disorder: Findings from a population-based surveillance study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 48, 474–483.
Sikora, D. M., Hall, T. A., Hartley, S. L., Gerrard-Morris, A. E., & Cagle, S. (2008). Does parent report of behavior differ across ADOS-G classifications: Analysis of scores from the CBCL and GARS. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 38, 440–448.
South, M., Williams, B. J., McMahon, W. M., Owley, T., Filipek, P. A., Shernoff, E., et al. (2002). Utility of the Gilliam autism rating scale in research and clinic populations. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 32, 593–599.
Strik, J., Honig, A., Lousberg, R., & Denollet, J. (2001). Sensitivity and specificity of observer and self-report questionnaires in major and minor depression following myocardial infarction. Psychosomatics, 42, 423–428.
U.S. Department of Education. (2011). 30th Annual report to congress on the implementation of the individuals with disabilities education act, 2008. Washington, DC: Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Office of Special Education Programs. 2011.
Wiggins, L., Baio, J., & Rice, C. (2006). Examination of the time between first evaluation and first autism spectrum diagnosis in a population-based sample. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 27, 79–87.
Wilkinson, L. A. (2010). Facilitating the identification of autism spectrum disorders in school-age children. Remedial and Special Education, 31, 350–357.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Myers, C.L., Gross, A.D. & McReynolds, B.M. Broadband Behavior Rating Scales as Screeners for Autism?. J Autism Dev Disord 44, 1403–1413 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-2004-7
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-2004-7