The sensitivity and specificity of the social communication questionnaire for autism spectrum with respect to age

Barnard‐Brak, Lucy; Brewer, Adam T.; Chesnut, Steven R.; Richman, David M.; Schaeffer, Anna Marie

doi:10.1002/aur.1584

Cited by 49 publications

(44 citation statements)

References 41 publications

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“…Although the SCQ is an appropriate screening measure for autism and for individuals with intellectual disabilities, questions were not adapted within the current investigation to represent the ageing sample. Literature suggests the potential benefits of modifying questions and subsequent cutoff scores to reflect samples [62]. Future research should therefore attempt to adapt questions to ensure accuracy of responses whilst maintaining the specificity of the measure.…”

Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistence and predictors of self-injurious behaviour in autism: a ten-year prospective cohort study

et al. 2020

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Background: Self-injurious behaviours, such as head banging, hair pulling, skin picking and scratching, are common in individuals with autism. Despite high prevalence rates, there is a paucity of longitudinal research to refine models of risk and mechanism and inform service planning. In this longitudinal study, we investigated selfinjury in a cohort of individuals with autism over 10 years to identify behavioural and demographic characteristics associated with persistent self-injury. Methods: Carers of 67 individuals with autism completed questionnaires relating to the presence of self-injury and relevant risk markers at T 1 (mean [SD] age in years 13.4 [7.7]) and T 3 (mean [SD] age in years 23.9 [7.7]) 10 years later. Forty-six of these also took part at T 2 (3 years after initial participation). Analysis assessed demographic and behavioural risk markers for self-injury, as well as the predictive value of items assessed at T 1 and T 2. Results: Self-injury was persistent in 44% of individuals over the 10-year period, with behavioural characteristics of impulsivity (p < .001) and overactivity (p = .002), identified as risk markers for persistence. A predictive model of selfinjury was derived from LASSO analysis, with baseline impulsivity, interest and pleasure, stereotyped behaviour, social communication and adaptive functioning predicting self-injury over 10 years. Conclusions: In this unique longitudinal investigation into the persistence of self-injury in a non-clinical sample of individuals with autism over a 10 year period, we have identified a novel, robust and stable profile of behavioural characteristics associated with persistent self-injury. Findings support an early intervention strategy targeted towards individuals identified to be at a higher risk of developing self-injurious behaviour.

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Section: Limitationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Persistence and predictors of self-injurious behaviour in autism: a ten-year prospective cohort study

et al. 2020

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“…It has been noted that the SCQ may be better at identifying children over seven years, than younger ones [Corsello et al, 2007;Norris & Lecalvalier, 2010]. For younger (<4 years) children, studies have found that an SCQ score of 11 maximizes sensitivity and specificity [Allen et al, 2007;Barnard-Brak, Brewer, Chesnut, Richman, & Schaeffer, 2016;Lee, David, Rusyniak, Landa, & Newschaffer, 2007;Wiggins et al, 2007]. Although these studies indicate child age can impact the performance of the SCQ, there is less evidence about how other demographic characteristics of children and parents may influence the SCQ score.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Influence of family demographic factors on social communication questionnaire scores

et al. 2018

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This study examined the effect of demographic factors on Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) scores in children aged 30–68 months. Diagnoses of ASD were made after a gold standard evaluation that included the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), and the Autism Diagnostic Interview Revised (ADI-R). The relationship of demographic variables to SCQ scores was compared in two source populations: (a) children recruited from clinical and educational sources serving children who have ASD or other developmental disorders (CE) and (b) children recruited from birth certificates to represent the general population (BC). The impact of the demographic variables—child sex, child age, maternal language, maternal ethnicity, maternal education, maternal race, and household income—on total SCQ score were studied to examine their impact on the SCQ’s performance. Demographic factors predicting the SCQ total score were used to generate ROCs. Factors that had a significant influence on SCQ performance were identified by examining the area under the ROCs. Optimal SCQ cut-points were generated for significant factors using the Youden’s Index. Overall male sex, lower household income, lower maternal education and Black race predicted higher SCQ scores. In this sample, the most common optimum value for the SCQ cut-point across the different sociodemographic groups was 11.

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“…Confirmation of the ASC diagnosis was provided by the SCQ, which was completed by a caregiver. The average SCQ score was 23.4 (SD = 4.64), i.e., higher than the cut-off score of 15 (see Barnard-Brak et al (2016) for a discussion about cut-off scores for the SCQ regarding sensitivity…”

Section: Participantsmentioning

confidence: 90%

Blending Human and Artificial Intelligence to Support Autistic Children’s Social Communication Skills

Porayska-Pomsta¹,

Alcorn²,

Avramides³

et al. 2018

ACM Trans. Comput.-Hum. Interact.

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This article examines the educational efficacy of a learning environment in which children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) engage in social interactions with an artificially intelligent (AI) virtual agent and where a human practitioner acts in support of the interactions. A multi-site intervention study in schools across the UK was conducted with 29 children with ASC and learning difficulties, aged 4-14 years old. For reasons related to data completeness and amount of exposure to the AI environment, data for 15 children was included in the analysis. The analysis revealed a significant increase in the proportion of social responses made by ASC children to human practitioners. The number of initiations made to human practitioners and to the virtual agent by the ASC children also increased numerically over the course of the sessions. However, due to large individual differences within the ASC group, this did not reach significance. Although no evidence of transfer to the real-world post-test was shown, anecdotal evidence of classroom transfer was reported. The work presented in this article offers an important contribution to the growing body of research in the context of AI technology design and use for autism intervention in real school contexts. Specifically, the work highlights key methodological challenges and opportunities in this area by leveraging interdisciplinary insights in a way that (i) bridges between educational interventions and intelligent technology design practices, (ii) considers the design of technology as well as the design of its use (context and procedures) on par with one another, and (iii) includes design contributions from different stakeholders, including children with and without ASC diagnosis, educational practitioners, and researchers.

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The sensitivity and specificity of the social communication questionnaire for autism spectrum with respect to age

Cited by 49 publications

References 41 publications

Persistence and predictors of self-injurious behaviour in autism: a ten-year prospective cohort study

Persistence and predictors of self-injurious behaviour in autism: a ten-year prospective cohort study

Influence of family demographic factors on social communication questionnaire scores

Blending Human and Artificial Intelligence to Support Autistic Children’s Social Communication Skills

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