title: The Q-CHAT (Quantitative CHecklist for Autism in Toddlers): a normally distributed quantitative measure of autistic traits at 18-24 months of age: preliminary report.
abstract: We report a major revision of the CHecklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT). This quantitative CHAT (Q-CHAT) contains 25 items, scored on a 5 point scale (0-4). The Q-CHAT was completed by parents of n = 779 unselected toddlers (mean age 21 months) and n = 160 toddlers and preschoolers (mean age 44 months) with an Autism Spectrum Condition (ASC). The ASC group (mean (SD) = 51.8 (14.3)) scored higher on the Q-CHAT than controls (26.7 (7.8)). Boys in the control group (27.5 (7.8)) scored higher than girls (25.8 (7.7)). The intraclass correlation for test-retest reliability was 0.82 (n = 330). The distribution in the control group was close to normal. Full examination of the clinical validity of the Q-CHAT and test properties is underway.
authors.affiliation: Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Douglas House, 18b Trumpington Road, Cambridge, CB2 8AH, UK. cla29@cam.ac.uk
authors.forename: Carrie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Allison
authors.forename: Simon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baron-Cohen
authors.forename: Sally
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Wheelwright
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Charman
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Richler
authors.forename: Greg
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Pasco
authors.forename: Carol
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Brayne
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D010552:Personality Assessment / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires