Schools conduct comprehensive psychoeducational evaluations to identify students with specific learning disabilities (SLDs) and determine whether they qualify for special education services. This decision-making process is complex and research has documented many factors influencing SLD identification decisions. One such factor may be…

This study examined the internal structure of the Scales for Assessing Emotional Disturbance-3 Rating Scale (RS), a teacher-completed RS developed to measure emotional disturbance (ED). As defined in U.S. law and regulations, ED involves five characteristics or patterns of behavioral and emotional maladaptation. RS data obtained on a sample of…

Children can be reliably diagnosed with autism as early as 3 years of age, and early interventions are initiated. There is often a significant gap between the age of onset of symptoms (2-3 years) and diagnosis (8-10 years) in Africa. We conducted a study to validate the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) as a screening instrument in a rural…

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to extend the assessment of the psychometric properties of the Modified Barium Swallow Impairment Profile (MBSImP). Here, we re-examined structural validity and internal consistency using a large clinical-registry data set and formally examined rater reliability in a smaller data set. Method: This study…

The assessment instruments for diagnosing children with autism spectrum disorder have been developed mostly in affluent, English-speaking countries. Among the most popular has been the Autism Diagnostic Interview--Revised. This article reports its use in Iran with the dual aims of confirming the factor structure of the revised Autism Diagnostic…

Severe problem behaviors such as self-injury and aggression are frequently observed in young children under age 5 with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD). Although early identification of problem behavior is critical to effective intervention, there are few standardized measures available that identify severe problem behavior in…

The Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ) has been widely used for measuring autistic characteristics in parents of children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Nonetheless, its psychometric validity is yet to be justified. This study tested the factor structure of the AQ by means of principal component analysis and confirmatory factor analysis using,…

The implementation of test-based accountability policies around the world has increased the pressure placed on students to perform well on state achievement tests. Educational researchers have begun taking a closer look at the reciprocal effects of test anxiety and high-stakes testing. However, existing test anxiety assessments lack efficiency and…

The factor structure and agreement among commonly used questionnaires for identifying children at risk for developmental disability and autism spectrum disorders between the ages of 36 and 66 months were studied. The Age and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ), the Ages and Stages Questionnaire: Social Emotional (ASQ: SE), and the Social Communication…

Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) is a topic receiving great attention from researchers and clinicians in the field. However, many of these studies focus on children or adults, with research on infants and toddlers evincing ASD being virtually non-existent. Even more scant is information pertaining to the assessment of symptoms of comorbid…

This study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the Chinese version of the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ). We assessed 736 participants (male, 80.1%) aged 2-18, who were clinically diagnosed with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) including autistic disorder, Asperger's disorder, or pervasive developmental disorders, not…

The aim of the current study was to investigate the manifestation of repetitive behaviour profiles in young children with a Pervasive Developmental Disorder. The sample consisted of 137 developmentally delayed children with a DSM-IV-TR Pervasive Developmental Disorder (PDD) and 61 developmentally delayed children without a PDD. An exploratory…

Four independent samples of children were used to study the reliability and validity of the Writing Essential Skill Screener, a measure designed to screen primary grade children at risk for writing difficulties. Among findings was that the measure is comprised of two dimensions, writing and name writing, that the factor structure did not fit the…

The purpose of this study was to examine the utility of the Differential Ability Scales (DAS) in distinguishing preschoolers with specific language impairment (SLI) and specific subtypes of language delays. Three hundred forty-eight language-impaired preschoolers' response patterns across DAS General Conceptual Ability (GCA), Ability cluster, and…