Assessment of individuals on the autism spectrum often includes a measure of nonverbal IQ. One such measure is the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM). For large research studies with participants distributed nationally it is desirable for assessments to be available online. Because time is a premium, it is ideal that the measure produces…

This study investigated the psychometric properties of the Autism Mental Status Examination (AMSE) in a Brazilian sample of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A sample of 260 children and adolescents, comprising 56 (21.5%) females and 204 (78.5%) males, was assessed. The participants were submitted to both the childhood…

Accumulating evidence indicates that co-occurring alexithymia underlies several facets of the social-emotional difficulties common in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. The mechanisms involved, however, remain poorly understood because measuring alexithymia relies heavily on self-report. To address this issue, carefully matched groups of…

The aim of this study was to develop a measurement approach to assess the learning opportunities provided by parents to their young children with autism spectrum disorder during a free play task and to examine the relationship between learning opportunities and child performance on measures of cognition, autism spectrum disorder symptoms, and…

Introduction: Although the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC) is one of the most widely used behavioral rating scales among people with developmental disabilities, very few studies have examined the factor structure of the non-English versions. Methods: The construct validity of the Norwegian ABC was examined in a clinical sample of children and…

The literature contains a variety of assessment tools for measuring the skills of individuals with autism or other developmental delays, but most lack adequate empirical evidence supporting their reliability and validity. The current pilot study sought to examine the reliability of scores obtained from the Assessment of Basic Language and Learning…

Peer interaction can be challenging in autism spectrum disorder, but naturalistic peer-observation scales for preschoolers are scarce. This study examined psychometric qualities of the newly developed Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale. We tested the Autism Peer Interaction Observation Scale to (a) characterize peer interactions of…

Little is known about the alliance between therapists and children with autism spectrum disorder who are receiving psychological therapies in outpatient treatment settings. This study examined the therapeutic alliance in children with autism spectrum disorder and clinical anxiety, who were receiving cognitive behavioral therapy in a randomized,…

Objective: Limited time and resources necessitate the availability of accurate, inexpensive and rapid diagnostic aids for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The Autistic Behavioural Indicators Instrument (ABII) was developed for this purpose, but its psychometric properties have not yet been fully established. Method: The clinician-rated ABII, the…

Background: Family Quality of Life (FQOL) is an important construct in the Intellectual Disabilities field. Several measures exist, including one developed by an international group, the Family Quality of Life Survey-2006 (FQOLS-2006; Brown et al.2006). However, the psychometric properties of this measure have yet to be fully investigated. This…

Deficits in Theory of Mind (ToM)--the ability to interpret others' beliefs, intentions and emotions--undermine the ability of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) to interact in socially normative ways. This study provides psychometric data for the Adult-Theory of Mind (A-ToM) measure using video-scenarios based in part on Happé's…

Introduction: Parents and their children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (IDD) are under significant amounts of stress (Lecavalier, Leone & Wiltz, 2006). When stress escalates to crisis, some children with IDD are admitted to the emergency department or an inpatient unit. While existing measures evaluate stress over time, we…

This study presents an independent replication and extension of psychometric evidence supporting the "Theory of Mind Inventory" ("ToMI"). Parents of 20 children with ASD (4; 1-6; 7 years; months) and 20 with typical development (3; 1-6; 5), rated their child's theory of mind abilities in everyday situations. Other parent report…

Joint attention, or the shared focus of attention between objects or events and a social partner, is a crucial milestone in the development of social communication and a notable area of deficit in children with autism spectrum disorder. While valid parent-report screening measures of social communication are available, the majority of these…

Individuals with autism spectrum disorders are often considered to have difficulty with using facial cues (e.g., cues from the eye region) to understand others' mental states. One of the pioneering assessments to test competence in this skill is the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes-Test" (RMET). In order to find out more about the…