Measuring treatment response in children with autism spectrum disorder: Applications of the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change to the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule.
So Hyun Kim, Rebecca Grzadzinski, Kassandra Martinez and 1 others
PMID 30303398WHAT IT FOUND
The Brief Observation of Social Communication Change scoring method applied to standard ADOS videos detected social communication changes in minimally verbal children with autism spectrum disorder over months.
Routine ADOS severity scores did not. This is about measurement, not proof that treatment worked.
Key findings
01When the same ADOS-BOSCC videos were scored by two or more coders, agreement was excellent across social communication, restricted and repetitive behaviour, and total scores.
02ADOS-BOSCC social communication and total scores decreased significantly from the first to the last observation, while ADOS-2 calibrated severity scores did not show significant change.
03Children classified as responders by language or adaptive communication gains showed significant decreases in ADOS-BOSCC social communication and total scores, and some differences from non-responders were significant.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample was small (49 children) and all children were under 5 and mostly minimally verbal, so results may not apply to older or more verbal children. Many children overlapped with the earlier Standard BOSCC validation sample (32 children), so this is partly a repeat of that work. The study did not test treatment effects or compare different treatments, so score changes cannot be attributed to therapy. There was no control group, so maturation and language development could contribute to observed changes. ADOS clips were selected in a standardised way, so applying the method to other ADOS segments is unknown. Coders were research assistants blind to treatment and time, but clinicians without research reliability or blinding may not score the same way. Restricted and repetitive behaviour findings varied across measures.
Declared interests
The supplied text lists research support from N.I.H., Extramural and Non-U.S. Gov't. It does not report author conflicts or a sponsor role.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that early intervention improved children's social communication. The study did not test treatment effects; it only showed that ADOS-BOSCC scores can track changes in existing videos.