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Brief Report: Concurrent Validity of Autism Symptom Severity Measures

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Abstract

The autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnostic classifications, according to the DSM-5, include a severity rating. Several screening and/or diagnostic measures, such as the autism diagnostic and observation schedule (ADOS), Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and social responsiveness scale (SRS) (teacher and parent versions), include an assessment of symptom severity. The purpose of this study was to examine whether symptom severity and/or diagnostic status of preschool-aged children with ASD (N = 201) were similarly categorized on these measures. For half of the sample, children were similarly classified across the four measures, and scores on most measures were correlated, with the exception of the ADOS and SRS-P. While the ADOS, CARS, and SRS are reliable and valid measures, there is some disagreement between measures with regard to child classification and the categorization of autism symptom severity.

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Acknowledgments

This research was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences (R324B070219).

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Author notes

  1. Matthew McBee

    Present address: East Tennessee State University, Johnson City, TN, USA

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Allied Health, Division of Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy, University of North Carolina, 321 S. Columbia Street, Bondurant Hall CB #7122, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7122, USA

    Stephanie S. Reszka & Brian A. Boyd

  2. Frank Porter Graham Child Development Institute, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC, USA

    Matthew McBee, Kara A. Hume & Samuel L. Odom

Authors
  1. Stephanie S. Reszka
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  2. Brian A. Boyd
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  3. Matthew McBee
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  4. Kara A. Hume
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  5. Samuel L. Odom
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Correspondence to Stephanie S. Reszka.

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Reszka, S.S., Boyd, B.A., McBee, M. et al. Brief Report: Concurrent Validity of Autism Symptom Severity Measures. J Autism Dev Disord 44, 466–470 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1879-7

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-013-1879-7

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