Using the Childhood Autism Rating Scale to Diagnose Autism Spectrum Disorders
- 7 January 2010
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Springer Science and Business Media LLC in Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders
- Vol. 40 (7), 787-799
- https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-009-0926-x
Abstract
This study investigated the childhood autism rating scale (CARS) as a tool for ASD diagnoses for 2-year-old (n = 376) and 4-year-old (n = 230) children referred for possible autism. The cut-off score to distinguish autistic disorder from PDD-NOS was 32 in the 2-year-old sample (consistent with Lord in J Child Psychol Psychiatry Allied Discipl, 36, 1365–1382, 1995), and 30 in the 4-year-old sample, with good sensitivity and specificity at both ages. The cut-off score to distinguish ASD from non-ASD at both ages was 25.5, with good sensitivity and specificity. Results confirm the utility of the CARS in distinguishing autistic disorder from PDD-NOS, and distinguishing ASD from other developmental disorders and typical development and suggest that an ASD cutoff around 25, which is in common clinical use, is valid.Keywords
This publication has 35 references indexed in Scilit:
- Diagnostic Stability in Very Young Children with Autism Spectrum DisordersJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2007
- Differential diagnosis of PDDNOS in childrenResearch in Autism Spectrum Disorders, 2007
- Agreement Among Four Diagnostic Instruments for Autism Spectrum Disorders in ToddlersJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2006
- Multi-site Study of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) in Five Clinical Groups of Young ChildrenJournal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 2005
- Childhood Autism Rating Scale − Tokyo Version for screening pervasive developmental disordersPsychiatry and Clinical Neurosciences, 2003
- Can Autism Be Diagnosed Accurately in Children Under 3 Years?Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1999
- Follow‐Up of Two‐Year‐Olds Referred for Possible AutismJournal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 1995
- Diagnosing Autism using ICD-10 criteria: A comparison of neural networks and standard multivariate proceduresChild Neuropsychology, 1995
- The criterion-related validity of the Childhood Autism Rating Scale and the Autism Behavior checklistJournal of Abnormal Child Psychology, 1993
- Can Autism be Detected at 18 Months?The British Journal of Psychiatry, 1992