title: Investigating the clinical usefulness of the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) in a tertiary level, autism spectrum disorder specific assessment clinic.
abstract: The Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS; Constantino and Gruber in Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Western Psychological Services, Los Angeles, 2005) is a commonly used screening tool for identifying children with possible autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This study investigated the relationship between SRS scores and eventual diagnostic outcome for children referred to a tertiary level, autism specific assessment service. Forty eight children (mean age = 8.10; 92% male) underwent a comprehensive ASD assessment. Parent and teacher SRS scores were subsequently compared with diagnostic outcome. Sensitivity was high (91% for parent report; 84% for teacher report), however specificity was much lower (8% for parent report; 41% for teacher report). Results demonstrate a need for caution when interpreting SRS results based on current cut-off scores, particularly in children with previously identified social developmental problems.
authors.affiliation: Diagnostic Assessment Service, Autism Spectrum Australia, Forestville, NSW 2087, Australia. faldridge@autismspectrum.org.au
authors.forename: Fiona J
authors.initials: FJ
authors.lastname: Aldridge
authors.forename: Vicki M
authors.initials: VM
authors.lastname: Gibbs
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Schmidhofer
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Williams
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D011594:Psychometrics; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires