Measures Used to Assess Treatment Outcomes in Children With Autism Receiving Early and Intensive Behavioral Interventions: A Review

Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders

Ridout, S., & Eldevik, S. (2024).

Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 11(3), 607-619.

<div>This review explores assessment instruments that may be used for children with autism spectrum disorder.</div>

University of Oslo (Norway)

2006 to 2021

<div>Peer-reviewed studies with group designs</div>

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<div>This review reported the following psychometrics for assessments that may be used to measure cognitive functioning in children on the autism spectrum:</div> <div> <ul> <li><strong>the Bayley-4: </strong>excellent internal consistency, good test-retest reliability, good correlation with similar developmental measures, and good convergent validity;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>the Differential Abilities Scale, 2nd Edition: </strong>excellent reliability and satisfactory concurrent validity;</li> <li><strong>the Merrill-Palmer Scale of Mental Tests:</strong> excellent reliability, satisfactory content and criterion-related validity, and good correlations to both the Bayley Scales and the abbreviated version of the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scales, 5th Edition;</li> <li><strong>the Mullen Scales of Early Learning:</strong> good construct and convergent validity and good reliability;</li> <li><strong>the PsychoEducational Profile, 3rd Edition:</strong> good internal reliability and a high correlation with the Childhood Autism Rating Scale and the original Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Expanded Form;</li> <li><strong>the Stanford Binet Intelligence Scales, 5th Edition: </strong>excellent internal consistency, excellent test&ndash;retest reliability, and satisfactory concurrent validity;</li> <li><strong>the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence, 4th Edition:</strong> excellent internal consistency and satisfactory criterion validity;</li> <li><strong>the Weschler Intelligence Scale for Children, 5th edition:</strong> excellent internal consistency and satisfactory criterion validity; and</li> <li><strong>the Woodcock Johnson, 3rd edition:</strong> poor to excellent reliability and satisfactory validity.</li> </ul> </div>

<div>This review reported the following psychometrics for assessments that may be used to measure language skills in children on the autism spectrum:</div> <div> <ul> <li><strong>the Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test, 4th Edition:</strong> acceptable internal consistency, excellent test-retest reliability, and good correlation to other measures of vocabulary;</li> <li><strong>the Expressive Vocabulary Test, 3rd Edition:</strong> good to excellent reliability and moderate to strong validity;</li> <li><strong>the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, 5th Edition:</strong> good to excellent reliability, good clinical validity in autism populations, and moderate correlations to similar measures;</li> <li><strong>the Receptive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test, 4th Edition;</strong> good to excellent reliability and good validity; and</li> <li><strong>the Verbal Behavior Assessment and Placement Program: </strong>low to good reliability and satisfactory validity.</li> </ul> </div>

<div>The Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, 3rd edition had excellent reliability and satisfactory validity when used to measures adaptive functioning in children on the autism spectrum.</div>

<div>This review reported the following psychometrics for assessments designed to identify children on the autism spectrum:</div> <div> <ul> <li><strong>the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised: </strong>good intraclass correlations, good correlation with the Social Communication Questionnaire, and good diagnostic accuracy when used in children whose mental age is above two years;&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, 2nd Edition: </strong>excellent internal consistency, excellent interrater and test-retest reliability, and excellent diagnostic validity;</li> <li><strong>the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, 2nd Edition: </strong>excellent internal reliability and good diagnostic and criterion-related validity;</li> <li><strong>the Gilliam Autism Rating Scale: </strong>good to excellent internal consistency, good to excellent test-retest reliability, and good correlation with to other diagnostic measures;</li> <li><strong>the Repetitive Behavior Scale-Revised: </strong>good reliability and mixed validity;</li> <li><strong>the Social Communication Questionnaire:</strong> good reliability and satisfactory validity; and</li> <li><strong>the Social Responsiveness Scale, 2nd Edition:</strong> excellent internal consistency, low to fair interrater reliability, and moderate correlation with the Child Behavior Checklist.</li> </ul> </div>

<div>This review reported the following psychometrics for assessments that may be used to measure challenging behaviors in children on the autism spectrum:&nbsp;</div> <div> <ul> <li><strong>the Child Behavior Checklist:</strong> low to good reliability and satisfactory validity; and&nbsp;</li> <li><strong>the Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, Maladaptive Behavior Domain:</strong> excellent reliability and satisfactory validity.</li> </ul> </div>