title: Measuring social communication behaviors as a treatment endpoint in individuals with autism spectrum disorder.
abstract: Social communication impairments are a core deficit in autism spectrum disorder. Social communication deficit is also an early indicator of autism spectrum disorder and a factor in long-term outcomes. Thus, this symptom domain represents a critical treatment target. Identifying reliable and valid outcome measures for social communication across a range of treatment approaches is essential. Autism Speaks engaged a panel of experts to evaluate the readiness of available measures of social communication for use as outcome measures in clinical trials. The panel held monthly conference calls and two face-to-face meetings over 14 months. Key criteria used to evaluate measures included the relevance to the clinical target, coverage of the symptom domain, and psychometric properties (validity and reliability, as well as evidence of sensitivity to change). In all, 38 measures were evaluated and 6 measures were considered appropriate for use, with some limitations. This report discusses the relative strengths and weaknesses of existing social communication measures for use in clinical trials and identifies specific areas in need of further development.
authors.affiliation: Holland Bloorview Kids Rehabilitation Hospital, University of Toronto, Canada eanagnostou@hollandbloorview.ca.
authors.forename: Evdokia
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Anagnostou
authors.affiliation: Neuren Pharmaceuticals Limited, USA.
authors.forename: Nancy
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Jones
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Medical College, USA.
authors.forename: Marisela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huerta
authors.affiliation: Autism Speaks, USA.
authors.forename: Alycia K
authors.initials: AK
authors.lastname: Halladay
authors.affiliation: Autism Speaks, USA.
authors.forename: Paul
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Emory University, USA.
authors.forename: Lawrence
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Scahill
authors.affiliation: Neuren Pharmaceuticals Limited, USA.
authors.forename: Joseph P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Horrigan
authors.affiliation: University of California, Los Angeles, USA.
authors.forename: Connie
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Kasari
authors.affiliation: Weill Cornell Medical College, USA.
authors.forename: Cathy
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Lord
authors.affiliation: Stony Brook University, USA.
authors.forename: Dennis
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Choi
authors.affiliation: New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Weill Cornell Medical Center, USA.
authors.forename: Katherine
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Sullivan
authors.affiliation: Duke University, USA.
authors.forename: Geraldine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Dawson
mesh_terms: D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000523:psychology* / Q000628:therapy; D003142:Communication; D006801:Humans; D017063:Outcome Assessment, Health Care; D011594:Psychometrics / Q000295:instrumentation*; D015203:Reproducibility of Results; D012919:Social Behavior; D012938:Social Perception; D066107:Social Skills; D016896:Treatment Outcome
keywords: autism spectrum disorders; behavioral measurement; outcome measures; social cognition and social behavior