Efficacy of three screening instruments in the identification of autistic-spectrum disorders.
BACKGROUND
Screening instruments for autistic-spectrum disorders have not been compared in the same sample.


OBJECTIVE
To compare the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and the Children's Communication Checklist (CCC).


METHODS
Screen and diagnostic assessments on 119 children between 9 and 13 years of age with special educational needs with and without autistic-spectrum disorders were weighted to estimate screen characteristics for a realistic target population.


RESULTS
The SCQ performed best (area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)=0.90; sensitivity 0.86; specificity 0.78). The SRS had a lower AUC (0.77) with high sensitivity (0.78) and moderate specificity (0.67). The CCC had a high sensitivity but lower specificity (AUC=0.79; sensitivity 0.93; specificity 0.46). The AUC of the SRS and CCC was lower for children with IQ < 70. Behaviour problems reduced specificity for all three instruments.


CONCLUSIONS
The SCQ, SRS and CCC showed strong to moderate ability to identify autistic-spectrum disorder in this at-risk sample of school-age children with special educational needs.
Behavioural and Brain Sciences Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK. t.charman@ich.ucl.ac.uk
Tony
T
Charman
Gillian
G
Baird
Emily
E
Simonoff
Tom
T
Loucas
Susie
S
Chandler
David
D
Meldrum
Andrew
A
Pickles
D000293:Adolescent; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D016896:Treatment Outcome