Adaptive behavior in autism: Minimal clinically important differences on the Vineland-II.
C H Chatham, K I Taylor, T Charman and 17 others
PMID 28941213WHAT IT FOUND
A change of 2.44 to 3.76 points on the Vineland-II Adaptive Behavior Composite score may be clinically meaningful for autistic people, but the needed change depends on age and IQ.
This is a benchmark, not proof a treatment works.
Key findings
01The final pooled dataset included 9,067 individuals with ASD and 10,326 observations, and 2% of individuals were excluded.
02The estimate of the smallest clinically meaningful change for the Adaptive Behavior Composite score ranged from 2.44 to 3.76 points.
03These estimates were lower for children than adolescents, lower for adolescents than adults, and lower when IQ was below 70.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
This was not a treatment study, so it does not show that any intervention produces the reported changes. The estimates came from pooled data with different populations, IQ tests, and clinician ratings, and the global rating anchors did not consistently associate with Vineland-II scores. The estimates apply to the Vineland-II Survey Interview form, not to caregiver rating forms, teacher forms, or the Vineland-3. The analysis excluded 2% of individuals as duplicates, out-of-range, or extreme outliers, and it did not evaluate alternative anchors because they were not standardized across datasets. A group-level change below the MCID may still be meaningful for some individuals, so the estimates are not a substitute for patient-level judgment.
Declared interests
The supplied text gives only a partial conflicts section. The publication types list NIH, non-U.S. government, and U.S. Public Health Service research support. The conflict section names T. Charman, E. Loth, L.A. Snyder, K.L. Walton-Bowen, and P. Ventola as having no conflicts to report.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the 2.44 to 3.76 point composite estimate as proof that a treatment works or as a threshold that fits every patient. This was not an intervention trial, and the estimates were lower for younger people and for people with IQ below 70.