Psychometric properties of the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist in Saudi Arabia

Abstract

Currently, there is a need in Saudi Arabia to grope the general development of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). However, no measures are currently available in Saudi Arabia to assess the general development in children with ASD. The present study thus aimed to explore the psychometric properties of the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC), in order to adapt it for use in Saudi Arabia. A cohort of 363 children with ASD from four age groups from Riyadh participated in the study. Teachers completed the ATEC to rate children’s behavior. The psychometric properties measured included normality of data, content validity, internal consistency, and construct validity. Content validity was established by presenting the checklist to high-qualified referees with 90 % as the minimum agreement level. Internal consistency was established by computing correlations among items and their subscales and among subscales and the total score. Construct validity was established using exploratory factorial analysis for the ATEC subscales and exploring the correlations between the ATEC and the educational stage of the participants. The reliability of the ATEC was established by Cronbach’s Alpha and split-half methods. Data revealed that the ATEC is quite valid and reliable and thus may be used in a Saudi cultural context. Our findings indicate that the Saudi version of the ATEC tested in this study may be used to identify the extent to which children with ASD benefit from the interventions offered to them in their special education programs.