title: Social validation of the New England Center For Children--Core Skills Assessment.
abstract: We investigated the social validity of the NECC Core Skills Assessment (NECC-CSA) with parents and professionals as participants. The NECC-CSA is a measurement tool consisting of direct and indirect measures of skills important to all individuals with autism, across the lifespan. Participants (N = 245) were provided with a list of 66 skills, 47 of which were Core Skills from the NECC-CSA, and were asked to indicate which items they considered to be foundational. Participants endorsed items from the NECC-CSA as foundational skills, more than they endorsed the other items. Differences between parents and professionals are described and detailed with respect to individual assessment items. The NECC-CSA consists of socially validated skills that can be taken as a starting point for programs of instruction for individuals with ASDs.
authors.affiliation: New England Center for Children, 33 Turnpike Road, Southborough, MA, 01772-2108, USA, cdickson@necc.org.
authors.forename: Chata A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Dickson
authors.forename: Rebecca P F
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: MacDonald
authors.forename: Renee
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Mansfield
authors.forename: Paulo
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Guilhardi
authors.forename: Cammarie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Johnson
authors.forename: William H
authors.initials: WH
authors.lastname: Ahearn
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000523:psychology*; D004185:Disability Evaluation; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009511:New England; D010290:Parents; D012919:Social Behavior