The goal of this paper is to examine the psychometric properties of a live-coded behavioral measure of joint attention, the "Attention-Following and Initiating Joint Attention Protocol" (JA Protocol), in order to assist researchers and clinicians in identifying when this measure may meet their joint attention assessment needs. Data from…

The Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, a standardized protocol for observation of social and communicative behavior associated with autism, is described. Data on interrater reliability as well as test-retest reliability and discriminant validity are provided. (Author/DB)

Analyses of the internal consistency of three autism scales--the Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC), the Real Life Rating Scale (RLRS), and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS)--were conducted with 34 children with pervasive developmental disabilities. Good internal consistency was found for the CARS. Adequate full-scale consistency was found for…

Six behavior rating scales used with children with problematic behaviors were reviewed for psychometric soundness of reliability and validity. They are: Behavior Dimensions Rating Scale; Behavior Evaluation Scale; Child Behavior Checklist, Teacher Report Form; Devereux Elementary School Behavior Rating Scale; Revised Behavior Problem Checklist;…

The Taxonomy of Problematic Social Situations for Children (TOPS) was completed for 30 fifth-grade children on 2 occasions 8 weeks apart. The TOPS total and factor scores were found to be highly temporally stable and convergent with peer evaluations administered concurrently, with the exception of peer "like most" nominations.…

Eighteen adolescents and adults with severe/profound intellectual disability were rated by two staff members using the Motivation Assessment Scale to identify variables maintaining their aggressive behaviors. Analysis of interrater reliability indicated that for some individuals the scale may not represent a feasible alternative to more formal…

Four staff members completed 3 questionnaires evaluating quantitative and qualitative aspects of compulsive and autistic behaviors of 17 young autistic adults in a farmstead residential facility. Results affirmed the utility and applicability of obsessive-compulsive assessment devices in evaluating behavior of autistic adults. (Author/DB)

This study examined the relationship between scores on the Behaviour Disorder Scale (BDS) and other assessments of challenging behavior in 100 adolescent and adult Australians with intellectual disabilities. The study found that the BDS was reliable and could be used to identify people with intellectual disabilities who exhibit behavioral…

The Walker/Severson Systematic Screening for Behavior Disorders measure was revised for use with preschool children. The revision consists of three hierarchical stages of increasingly time-consuming methodologies: (1) teacher rankings, (2) teacher ratings, and (3) direct behavioral observations. Testing with 121 children demonstrated significant…

The behavior of 120 children (grades 9-12) was rated by 2 groups of teachers using the Revised Behavior Problem Checklist. The correlation coefficients obtained indicate low to moderate relationship between teacher ratings of the same child, with the strongest correlations for the subscale Attention Problems-Immaturity. (Author/JDD)

This replication study found that only 16 of 55 raters agreed on the category of reinforcement maintaining a disabled individual's self-injurious behavior after using the Motivation Assessment Scale. Additionally, only 15 percent of the correlation coefficients obtained were above 80 percent, and none of the reliability scores was above 80…

Forty parents of children with autism or pervasive developmental disorder completed the Wing Subgroups Questionnaire, developed for subclassifying children into one of L. Wing's three hypothesized subgroups. Results indicated that the questionnaire has adequate external criterion-referenced validity, with similar subgroup ratings made by…

The "Behavior Problems Inventory" (BPI) is a behavior rating instrument for self-injurious, stereotypic, and aggressive/destructive behavior in mental retardation and other developmental disabilities. Evaluation with 432 residents in a developmental center found the BPI to be a reliable (retest reliability, internal consistency, and…

This study describes and documents reliability reporting practices in dissertation studies that have used the "Behavior Assessment System for Children" (BASC). Only 9 of 106 studies examined reported reliability for subpopulations. The lack of reliability score estimates has implications for use of the BASC to identify culturally diverse…

The Behavior Summarized Evaluation (BSE) measures changes in behavioral parameters in autistic children over time and treatments. Tests of reliability and validity suggest that the BSE is an acceptable tool for the assessment of autistic behaviors, is easy to handle, and is accessible to both professional and paraprofessional medicoeducative…