The Autism Impact Measure (AIM): Examination of Sensitivity to Change.
Micah O Mazurek, Coleen Carlson, Mary Baker-Ericzén and 4 others
PMID 33001561WHAT IT FOUND
The Autism Impact Measure detects short-term symptom changes in children with autism.
Scores improved in domains targeted by specific treatments, such as social skills, while repetitive behaviors showed general improvement. It offers a practical parent-report tool for tracking progress over weeks.
Key findings
01The AIM demonstrated sensitivity to change across core symptom domains, with scores decreasing over time in a manner consistent with treatment targets.
02Changes in AIM domain scores correlated significantly with changes in several concurrent parent-report and clinician-rated measures, though not with the ADOS-2.
03Repetitive behaviors improved across all groups, while social communication and peer interaction domains showed the largest gains specifically in treatments targeting those skills.
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 did not include a no-treatment control group, so it is impossible to distinguish whether improvements were due to the specific interventions, natural development, or the passage of time. The AIM is a parent-report measure, making it subject to reporter bias, especially in non-blinded studies. Sample sizes varied substantially across the six treatment groups, which may affect the stability of the findings for smaller groups. The study only included children who met clinical cut-offs on the ADOS-2, so the results may not apply to children with more subtle or subclinical symptoms.
Declared interests
Two authors (Drs. Mazurek and Kanne) will receive royalties from Western Psychological Services for the Autism Impact Measure, the tool being evaluated.
The easy way to misread this
Do not interpret the AIM's sensitivity to change as evidence that the treatments themselves are effective. The study design lacked a control group, so improvements could reflect natural development or the passage of time rather than the specific interventions.