Brief Report: Relationship Between ADOS-2, Module 4 Calibrated Severity Scores (CSS) and Social and Non-Social Standardized Assessment Measures in Adult Males with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Michael J Morrier, Opal Y Ousley, Gabriella A Caceres-Gamundi and 4 others
PMID 28875421WHAT IT FOUND
In 40 adult males with autism, ADOS-2 severity scores did not line up with self or parent reports of social difficulties.
They did line up with IQ, especially verbal ability, so higher social affect scores went with lower verbal IQ.
Key findings
01In 40 adult males with ASD, ADOS-2 Overall Total-CSS did not show a significant relationship with the combined SRS-2 social responsiveness score or the AQ self-report score.
02ADOS-2 Overall Total-CSS was significantly related to Full Scale-2 IQ (r = −.34, p = .031), but not Full Scale-4 IQ (p > .05).
03Social affect CSS was significantly related to total IQ and verbal comprehension, while repetitive behavior CSS was not; Overall Total-CSS was not related to SCL-90 global distress.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
The study included only 40 males, so it cannot be generalized to females with ASD. Participants had IQ scores above 60, so results do not address adults with lower intellectual ability. The sample was limited to adults aged 18 to 45 with a previous ASD diagnosis, not children or adults with suspected but unconfirmed ASD. The authors describe the findings as preliminary because of the moderate sample size and ascertainment criteria. Verbal IQ was not analyzed as a covariate, so the study does not show how much of the ADOS-2 severity score is explained by language ability.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that ADOS-2 severity scores are unrelated to social impairment because they did not line up with the SRS-2 or AQ. The same scores were related to IQ, especially verbal comprehension, so language ability may shape ADOS-2 scores.