Anxiety is one of the most prevalent mental health challenges in autistic children, yet there is limited evidence on effective tools to measure treatment outcomes. Previous research with non-autistic children has found that the Child Anxiety Impact Scale, Parent Version achieved good diagnostic accuracy when measuring treatment outcomes and…

The General Social Outcome Measure (GSOM) is a performance-based measurement tool designed to assess the change in social skills performance during and after intervention for students with social skills deficits. In the current study, the psychometric properties of the GSOM, including the total score and social communication domains, were examined…

Anxiety often co-occurs with autism spectrum disorder, yet there are few valid and reliable instruments for measuring anxiety in youth with autism spectrum disorder. This article describes the modification of the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale for youth with autism spectrum disorder and systematic psychometric evaluation in a well-characterized…

Purpose: Social communication or pragmatic skills are continuously distributed in the general population. Impairment in these skills is associated with two clinical disorders, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and social (pragmatic) communication disorder. Such impairment can impact a child's peer acceptance, school performance, and current and later…

Accurately diagnosing autism spectrum disorders in adulthood can be challenging. Structured questionnaires and diagnostic measures are frequently used to assist case recognition and diagnosis. This study reviewed research evidence on structured questionnaires and diagnostic measures published since the National Institute for Health and Care…

Peer interaction can be challenging in autism spectrum disorder, but naturalistic peer-observation scales for preschoolers are scarce. This study examined psychometric qualities of the newly developed Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale. We tested the Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale to (a) characterize peer interactions of…

Background: Both parent-report and clinician-administered autism spectrum disorder (ASD) screening instruments are important to accurately inform ASD risk ascertainment. The aim of this study was to adapt a clinician-administered ASD screening instrument, the Autistic Behavioural Indicators Instrument (ABII), as a parent questionnaire equivalent…

Objective: Limited time and resources necessitate the availability of accurate, inexpensive and rapid diagnostic aids for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The Autistic Behavioural Indicators Instrument (ABII) was developed for this purpose, but its psychometric properties have not yet been fully established. Method: The clinician-rated ABII, the…

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Child and Family Quality of Life scale, a measure of psychosocial quality of life in those with autism and related developmental disorders. Parents of 212 children suspected of autism spectrum disorder completed the Child and Family Quality of Life prior to a diagnostic evaluation. Results…

The psychometric properties of the Pediatric Anxiety Rating Scale (PARS), a clinician-administered measure for assessing severity of anxiety symptoms, were examined in 72 children and adolescents diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The internal consistency of the PARS was 0.59, suggesting that the items were related but not…