SLPSurveyJournal of autism and developmental disorders2025

Clinician Opinions Regarding the Usefulness of the BOSA for ASD Assessment in a Service for Children Aged Under 12 Years.

Sophie Shapter, Amy Carroll, Kate Roberts

PMID 38565777

WHAT IT FOUND

Most clinicians found the BOSA less helpful than the ADOS-2 for diagnosis, citing issues with parent administration.

However, they valued observing parent-child interactions and noted the BOSA might help specific cases like selective mutism.

Key findings

01Clinicians preferred the ADOS-2 over the BOSA for diagnostic decision-making, with no clinicians finding the BOSA more helpful than a standard ADOS-2.

02Seven of ten clinicians reported that parent administration of the BOSA could be detrimental because parents might scaffold too well or struggle with cues, obscuring symptoms.

03Six clinicians found value in the BOSA for observing parent-child interactions, and noted potential utility for specific cases like selective mutism.

STILL TO COME

How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs

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What it does not show

The study relies on the opinions of a small sample (12 clinicians) from a single service. Clinicians had significantly more experience with the ADOS-2 than the BOSA, which likely biases preference toward the familiar tool. The BOSA is not yet a validated or standardized assessment tool, limiting the certainty of its diagnostic accuracy. Data was collected via an online survey rather than interviews, potentially reducing the depth of responses.

Declared interests

None reported.

The easy way to misread this

Do not interpret clinician preference for the ADOS-2 as proof of the BOSA's ineffectiveness; the sample had minimal experience with the BOSA compared to the ADOS-2, and the BOSA is not yet validated.

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