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Using the BASC-2 Parent Rating Scales to Screen for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Toddlers and Preschool-Aged Children

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Abstract

Early identification of toddlers and preschool-aged children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is important for ensuring that these youth receive targeted early intervention services. Identifying young children with ASD is complicated by overlap among symptoms of ASD and other developmental delays. Additionally, youth with ASD have a higher risk of experiencing co-occurring challenging behaviors that are beyond the diagnostic criteria for ASD (e.g., attention difficulties, anxiety). Given this, broadband behavioral assessments that measure symptoms of ASD as well as other behavioral and emotional challenges offer a cost-effective method for screening young children. The present study evaluated the utility of one such assessment, the Behavior Assessment System for Children, Second Edition, Parent Rating Scale-Preschool (BASC-2 PRS-P), for identifying young children with ASD from those with other diagnoses (including other developmental delays) and those without diagnoses. The sample included 224 toddlers and preschoolers (age range: 24–63 months, males n = 153 [68 % total sample]) who screened positive on an ASD-specific screening tool. Results demonstrated that the Developmental Social Disorders (DSD) scale on the BASC-2 PRS-P had adequate sensitivity and specificity values when distinguishing youth with ASD from those without any diagnoses, but not when differentiating between youth with ASD and those with other diagnoses. Similar to other multidimensional behavior rating scales, the BASC-2 PRS-P may be most useful for identifying young children who require comprehensive diagnostic evaluations.

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Acknowledgments

We are grateful to the children and their families who participated in this project. We thank the members of Dr. Robins’ Developmental Neuropsychology Lab for their contributions to data collection for this project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. A. J. Drexel Autism Institute, Drexel University, 3020 Market Street, Suite 560, Philadelphia, PA, 19104, USA

    Lauren E. Bradstreet, Connor M. Kerns & Diana L. Robins

  2. Cherokee County School District, Buffington Educational Service Center, 4568 Cumming Highway, Canton, GA, 30115, USA

    Julia I. Juechter

  3. Special Education and Clinical Sciences, College of Education, University of Oregon, 170 Lokey Education Building, Eugene, OR, 97403, USA

    Randy W. Kamphaus

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  1. Lauren E. Bradstreet
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  2. Julia I. Juechter
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  4. Connor M. Kerns
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  5. Diana L. Robins
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Correspondence to Lauren E. Bradstreet.

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Funding

This study was funded by the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (HD039961).

Conflict of Interest

L.E.B. declares that she has no conflict of interest. J.I.J. declares that she has no conflict of interest. R.W.K. is the co-author of the BASC-2 and receives royalties on net sales of this measure. C.M.K. is a research fellow at the Center for Health Innovation at Adelphi University, has received funding from the Autism Science Foundation, Adelphi University, and Temple University, provides consultation to Temple University, the UC David MIND Institute, and GeneticaLens, and received honoraria for educational symposia at Virginia Polytechnic University, SUNY Albany, SUNY Old Westbury, and Foundations Behavioral Health (none are directly associated with this publication). D.L.R. received funding from the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development that supported this project (R01HD039961), is the co-owner of M-CHAT, LLC, and did not receive royalties associated with the data from the current manuscript.

Ethical Approval

All procedures performed in studies involving human participants were in accordance with the ethical standards of the institutional and/or national research committee and with the 1964 Declaration of Helsinki and its later amendments or comparable ethical standards.

Informed Consent

Informed consent was obtained from all individual participants included in the study.

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Bradstreet, L.E., Juechter, J.I., Kamphaus, R.W. et al. Using the BASC-2 Parent Rating Scales to Screen for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Toddlers and Preschool-Aged Children. J Abnorm Child Psychol 45, 359–370 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10802-016-0167-3

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