Utility of the Social Communication Questionnaire-Current and Social Responsiveness Scale as Teacher-Report Screening Tools for Autism Spectrum Disorders

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders Vol. 42; no. 8; pp. 1705 - 1716
• Main Authors: Schanding, G. Thomas, Nowell, Kerri P., Goin-Kochel, Robin P.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Boston Springer US 01-08-2012; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Adolescent; Algorithms; Autism; Autism Spectrum Disorders; Autistic spectrum disorders; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Child; Child and School Psychology; Child clinical studies; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive - diagnosis; Child, Preschool; Children; Clinical assessment; Communication; Communication (Thought Transfer); Cutting Scores; Developmental disorders; Disability Identification; Educational Psychology; Faculty; Female; Guidelines; Humans; Infantile autism; Interpersonal Relations; Inventories; Language Impairments; Male; Measures (Individuals); Medical sciences; Mental Disorders; Neurodevelopmental disorders; Neurosciences; Occupational Therapy; Original Paper; Outcome Measures; Parents; Pediatrics; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Public Health; Questionnaires; Resistance (Psychology); Responsiveness; Screening; Screening Tests; Sensitivity; Sensitivity and Specificity; Social Behavior; Speech Language Pathology; Surveys and Questionnaires; Teachers; Teaching Methods; Test Validity; Validity; Autism spectrum disorders; SCQ; Screening; Teachers; SRS; PDD-NOS; Asperger’s Syndrome; Human; Questionnaire; Teacher; Psychometrics; Developmental disorder; Teacher rating; Medical screening; Autism spectrum disorder; Autism; Pervasive developmental disorder; Utility; Asperger syndrome; Asperger's Syndrome; Communication; Tool
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-011-1412-9

Limited research exists regarding the role of teachers in screening for Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD). The current study examined the use of the
Social Communication Questionnaire
(SCQ) and
Social Responsiveness Scale
(SRS) as completed by parents and teachers about school-age children from the Simons Simplex Collection. Using the recommended cutoff scores in the manuals and extant literature, the teacher-completed SCQ and SRS yielded lower sensitivity and specificity values than would be desirable; however, lowering the cutoff scores on both instruments improved sensitivity and specificity to more adequate levels for screening purposes. Using the adjusted cutoff scores, the SRS teacher form appears to be a slightly better screener than the SCQ. Implications and limitations are discussed, as well as areas for future research.