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Spanish Cultural Validation of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised

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Abstract

The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers–revised/follow-up (M-CHAT-R/F) was developed to reduce the number of cases requiring telephone verification. The aim of this study was to validate a Spanish version of the M-CHAT-R/F in the Spanish public health system. The M-CHAT-R/F was translated, culturally adapted, and then administered to 6625 children. Of the 39 positive screening cases, 15 children were diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 24 with non-ASD disorders or delays. The sensitivity was 0.79 and specificity of 0.99. Positive and negative predictive values were 0.39 and 0.99, respectively. These results are similar to the English equivalent, though observed prevalence was lower. This study supports Spanish National Health System policy makers to consider a universal ASD screening program.

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Acknowledgments

We wish to thank all families and professionals from Salamanca, Zamora and Valladolid health areas that have collaborated to make this study possible. This research was conducted as a part of the first author’s PhD project.

Funding

This work was supported by the State Program of Research, Development and Innovation Oriented towards Social Challenges from Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad [Grant No. PSI2013-47840-R] and [Grant No. PSI2016-80575-R]; and DG-SANTÉ, European Commission Project Autism Spectrum Disorders in the European Union—ASDEU [Grant No. SANCO/2014/C2/035].

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Atención Integral al Autismo (INFOAUTISMO), Faculty of Education, University Institute of Community Integration (INICO), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain

    María Magán-Maganto, Ricardo Canal-Bedia, Álvaro Bejarano-Martín, Clara J. Fernández-Álvarez & Maria V. Martín-Cilleros

  2. Hospital Universitario de Salamanca, University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain

    Aránzazu Hernández-Fabián

  3. Servicio de Psiquiatría del Complejo Asistencial de Zamora, Zamora, Spain

    María Martínez-Velarte

  4. Faculty of Psychology, University Institute of Community Integration (INICO), University of Salamanca, Salamanca, Spain

    Noelia Flores-Robaina

  5. Department of Experimental Clinical and Health Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium

    Herbert Roeyers

  6. Institute of Rare Diseases Research & CIBERER, Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain

    Manuel Posada de la Paz

Authors
  1. María Magán-Maganto
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  2. Ricardo Canal-Bedia
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  3. Aránzazu Hernández-Fabián
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  4. Álvaro Bejarano-Martín
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  5. Clara J. Fernández-Álvarez
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  6. María Martínez-Velarte
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  7. Maria V. Martín-Cilleros
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  8. Noelia Flores-Robaina
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  9. Herbert Roeyers
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  10. Manuel Posada de la Paz
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Contributions

MMM participated in the study design and coordination, performed the statistical analysis and interpreted the data, and drafted the manuscript; RCB conceived the study, participated in its design and coordination and drafted the manuscript; AHF participated in the design and coordination of the study and performed the measurement; ABM participated in the coordination of the study and helped to draft the manuscript; CFA helped to draft the manuscript; MMV participated in the coordination of the study and performed the measurement; MVMC participated in the coordination of the study; NFR helped to draft the manuscript; HR helped to draft the manuscript; MPP participated in the design and interpretation of the data and helped to draft the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Ricardo Canal-Bedia.

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Magán-Maganto, M., Canal-Bedia, R., Hernández-Fabián, A. et al. Spanish Cultural Validation of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised. J Autism Dev Disord 50, 2412–2423 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-018-3777-5

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