Date of Award

1989

Publication Type

Master Thesis

Degree Name

M.Ed.

Department

Education

Keywords

Education, Special.

Supervisor

Powell, J. C.,

Rights

info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess

Abstract

This study primarily examined the criterion-related, and construct validity, as well as the program planning usefulness of three widely used diagnostic screening and assessment instruments for autistic symptomatology. The instruments under study included Rimland's Diagnostic Checklist (Form E-2), the Autism Behaviour Checklist (ABC) and the Childhood Autism Rating Scales (CARS). Sixteen subjects, nine females and seven males, ranging in age from three years, nine months to thirteen years, comprised the research sample. All subjects had received a psychiatric diagnosis of Infantile Autism. The degree of correspondence between the three assessment instruments under study and DSM-III criteria was assessed using chi square, analysis of variance, and content analysis. The correspondence between the DSM-III and the CARS, unlike Form E-2 and the ABC is significant at the.05 level of significance. The results of this study lend further support for the criterion related and construct validity of the CARS. The interrater reliability of the CARS was also found to be quite high. The ABC relative to Form E-2 and the CARS was found to provide the most useful data base for program planning. All three instruments contribute to the clarification and quantification of the autism syndrome. Further investigations into the psychometric properties of all three assessment instruments are warranted. Paper copy at Leddy Library: Theses & Major Papers - Basement, West Bldg. / Call Number: Thesis1989 .S645. Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 30-03, page: 0468. Chairman: J. C. Powell. Thesis (M.Ed.)--University of Windsor (Canada), 1989.

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