Abstract
Strategies for the early detection of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in people with intellectual developmental disorder (IDD) are urgently needed, but few specific tools have been developed. The present study examines the psychometric properties of the EVTEA-DI, a Spanish adaptation of the PDD-MRS, in a large randomized sample of 979 adults with IDD. Factorial solution analysis suggested a three-factor solution (stereotyped behavior, communication, and social behavior). The EVTEA-DI showed good reliability and convergent validity when compared to the Childhood Autism Rating Scale. Discriminative validity analysis resulted in an acceptable global sensitivity of 70% and a high specificity of 90%. The EVTEA-DI proved to be a valid screening tool in ASD assessment of the adult Spanish population with IDD.
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Acknowledgments
We are grateful to all the professionals who participated in the POMONA-ESP recruitment and in evaluating the study sample, and to all the participants, parents and volunteers who took part in the study.
Funding
This study was supported in part by grants from the Fondo de Investigación en Salud—Instituto de Salud Carlos III (FIS PI12/01237) and from Fundació Port Aventura.
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MJC, CO, SM: conceptualization and design. RML and LR translated the scale. AF, GC and MI collected data. MJC: methodology and statistical analyses. MJC and CO wrote the original draft. JH, EV and RML: interpretation and critical revisions of the article. RML and LS: funding acquisition. All the authors read and approved the final manuscript.
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All the 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.
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Cortés, M.J., Orejuela, C., Castellví, G. et al. Psychometric Properties of Spanish Adaptation of the PDD-MRS Scale in Adults with Intellectual Developmental Disorders: The EVTEA-DI Scale. J Autism Dev Disord 48, 1566–1578 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3416-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-017-3416-6