title: The use of the Battelle Developmental Inventory-Second Edition (BDI-2) as an early screener for autism spectrum disorders.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The purpose was to develop cut-off scores for a measure of developmental level (Battelle Developmental Inventory-Second Edition; BDI-2) which could be used as a screening tool to differentiate young children with possible autism spectrum disorders (ASD).
  
  
  METHODS
  Infants and toddlers with ASD (n = 604) and atypically-developing infants and toddlers (n = 1064) were administered the BDI-2. Cut-off scores were determined based on standard deviations from the mean of the ASD group.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Using 1.5 standard deviations from the mean of the ASD group, a cut-off score of 96 was determined which had a sensitivity of 0.94 and a specificity of 0.31.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  With high sensitivity, these cut-off scores can be used to identify children who require further assessment. In addition, the measure can be used to determine treatment targets.
authors.affiliation: Louisiana State University, Psychology, Baton Rouge, USA.
authors.forename: Megan
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sipes
authors.forename: Johnny L
authors.initials: JL
authors.lastname: Matson
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Turygin
mesh_terms: D002657:Child Development; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D011569:Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; D015203:Reproducibility of Results