The Knowledge of Autism Questionnaire-UK: Development and Initial Psychometric Evaluation.
Sophie Langhorne, Nora Uglik-Marucha, Charlotte Broadhurst and 4 others
PMID 38698297WHAT IT FOUND
The KAQ-UK is a 14-item questionnaire measuring autism knowledge in the UK.
It shows promise for distinguishing knowledge levels, particularly identifying parents of autistic people as having higher scores, but requires further validation before clinical use.
Key findings
01The final questionnaire consists of 14 items and demonstrated satisfactory internal consistency.
02Parents and carers of autistic people scored significantly higher on the questionnaire than those with no affiliation to autism.
03Self-perceived autism knowledge was positively correlated with actual scores on the questionnaire.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
The sample size was insufficient for confirmatory factor analysis, meaning the factor structure requires further validation. Recruitment relied on social media and snowballing, introducing potential sampling bias. Limited demographic data (e.g., age, gender, socio-economic status) was collected, making it difficult to assess representativeness. The study did not validate the tool against a 'gold standard' measure, as none existed. Only 7 participants self-identified as autistic, preventing analysis of knowledge differences within the autistic community. The tool's sensitivity to change over time has not yet been established.
Declared interests
Funded by the Health Technology Assessment Programme and the National Institute for Health and Care Research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not assume the KAQ-UK is ready for clinical use or that it can accurately measure changes in knowledge over time. The study provides only initial psychometric support, and further validation is required before confident application in practice.