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Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

, Volume 48, Issue 5, pp 1423–1435 | Cite as

Parent and Teacher Concordance of Child Outcomes for Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder

  • Kelsey S. Dickson
  • Jessica Suhrheinrich
  • Sarah R. Rieth
  • Aubyn C. Stahmer
Original Paper
First Online:

Abstract

Cross-informant ratings of are considered gold standard for child behavioral assessment. To date, little work has examined informant ratings of adaptive functioning for youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In a large, diverse sample of youth with ASD, this study evaluated parent–teacher concordance of ratings of adaptive functioning and ASD-specific symptomatology across time. The impact of child clinical characteristics on concordance was also examined. Participants included 246 children, their caregivers and teachers. Parent–teacher concordance was variable but generally consistent across time. Concordance was significantly impacted by autism severity and child cognitive abilities. Findings inform the broader concordance literature and support the need to consider child clinical factors when assessing child functioning in samples of children with ASD.

Keywords

Parent–teacher correspondence Child outcomes Autism spectrum disorder School-aged children 
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Notes

Acknowledgments

This work was conducted at the Child and Adolescent Services Research Center. This study was supported by the U.S. Department of Education Grant (R324A130349; PI: Aubyn C. Stahmer) and an NIMH Career Development Grant (K01MH109574; PI: Suhrheinrich). Additionally, Drs. Stahmer and Suhrheinrich are investigators with the Implementation Research Institute (IRI), at the George Warren Brown School of Social Work, Washington University in St. Louis, through an award from the NIMH (5R25MH08091607). The authors would like to acknowledge the participating schools, teachers, and families.

Author Contributions

KD participated in data acquisition, performed the statistical analyses, interpretation of the data, and drafted the manuscript. JS participated in the design and coordination of the study, data acquisition, and helped to draft the manuscript. SR participated in the design and coordination of the study, data acquisition, and helped to draft the manuscript. AS conceived of the study, participated in its design and coordination, and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Compliance with Ethical Standards

Conflict of interest

All authors declare they have no conflicts of interests.

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 Helsinki declaration 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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Copyright information

© Springer Science+Business Media, LLC 2017

Authors and Affiliations

  • Kelsey S. Dickson
    • 1
    • 2
  • Jessica Suhrheinrich
    • 2
    • 3
  • Sarah R. Rieth
    • 2
    • 3
  • Aubyn C. Stahmer
    • 2
    • 4
  1. 1.Department of PsychiatryUniversity of California, San DiegoSan DiegoUSA
  2. 2.Child and Adolescent Services Research CenterSan DiegoUSA
  3. 3.San Diego State UniversitySan DiegoUSA
  4. 4.University of California, Davis MIND InstituteSacramentoUSA

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