Hollocks, Matthew, Casson, Roland, White, Clare, Dobson, Jess, Beazley, Peter and Humphrey, Ayla (2019) Brief Report: An Evaluation of the Social Communication Questionnaire as a Screening Tool for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Young People Referred to Child & Adolescent Mental Health Services. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 49 (6). pp. 2618-2623. ISSN 0162-3257

PDF (Accepted_Manuscript) - Submitted Version Restricted to Repository staff only until 10 April 2020. Download (274kB) | Request a copy

Abstract

The SCQ is a widely used screening measure for the assessment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, its sensitivity and specificity when used with older children in the context of community Child & Adolescent Mental Health services is unclear. Seventy-seven (Mean age = 12.8 years) young people with suspected ASD were screened using parent- and teacher-reported SCQ’s before completing a comprehensive diagnostic assessment. Of the 77 young people included, 44 (57%) met criteria for an ASD diagnosis. Our results indicated that regardless of informant, SCQ scores did not significantly predict the outcome of the diagnostic assessment. Based on the published cut-off score for the SCQ, Receiver Operating Characteristic curve analyses revealed a lower than expected sensitivity and specificity. This suggests that the SCQ is not an effective screening tool when used in the context of community Child & Adolescent Mental Health services

Item Type:	Article
Faculty \ School:	Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences > Norwich Medical School
Depositing User:	LivePure Connector
Date Deposited:	16 May 2019 07:30
Last Modified:	25 Jul 2019 02:21
URI:	https://ueaeprints.uea.ac.uk/id/eprint/71009
DOI:	10.1007/s10803-019-03982-6

Actions (login required)

View Item