Brief Report: Exploratory Analysis of the ADOS Revised Algorithm: Specificity and Predictive Value with Hispanic Children Referred for Autism Spectrum Disorders

• Published in: Journal of autism and developmental disorders 2008-07, Vol.38 (6), p.1166-1169
• Main Authors: Overton, Terry, Fielding, Cheryl, de Alba, Roman Garcia
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Algorithms; Autism; Autistic children; Autistic Disorder - diagnosis; Autistic Disorder - psychology; Behavioral Science and Psychology; Biological and medical sciences; Brief Report; Child; Child and School Psychology; Child, Preschool; Children; Clinical Diagnosis; Diagnostic testing; Education Service Centers; Exploratory data analysis; Female; Hispanic American people; Hispanic Americans; Hispanic Americans - psychology; Humans; Infant; Language Development Disorders - diagnosis; Language Development Disorders - psychology; Language Skills; Male; Mass Screening; Mathematics; Medical sciences; Multilingualism; Neurosciences; Pediatrics; Personality Assessment - statistics & numerical data; Pervasive Developmental Disorders; Psychology; Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry; Psychometrics. Diagnostic aid systems; Psychopathology. Psychiatry; Psychosocial Deprivation; Public Health; Referral and Consultation; Reproducibility of Results; Sensitivity and Specificity; Severity (of Disability); Social Behavior; Social Environment; Techniques and methods
• ISSN: 0162-3257; 1573-3432
• DOI: 10.1007/s10803-007-0488-8

This study compared Autism diagnostic observation schedule (ADOS) algorithm scores of a sample of 26 children who were administered modules 1–3 of the ADOS with the scores obtained applying the revised ADOS algorithm proposed by Gotham et al. ( 2007 ). Results of this application were inconsistent, yielding slightly more accurate results for module 1. New algorithm scores on modules 2 and 3 remained consistent with the original algorithm scores. The Mann–Whitney U was applied to compare revised algorithm and clinical levels of social impairment to determine if significant differences were evident. Results of Mann–Whitney U analyses were inconsistent and demonstrated less specificity for children with milder levels of social impairment. The revised algorithm demonstrated accuracy for the more severe autistic group.