Abstract
Validated screening and diagnostic tools for autism spectrum disorder for use in Arabic-speaking individuals are scarce. This study validated the Arabic version of the Social Communication Questionnaire. The total study sample included 206 children with autism spectrum disorder and 206 typically developing children (73.8% male; mean age: 8.5 (standard deviation = 2.6) years). The mean Social Communication Questionnaire total score was significantly higher in autism spectrum disorder children than in typically developing children (p < 0.0001). Scores on the three Social Communication Questionnaire subscales also differed significantly between the groups (p < 0.001). Of the 39 items, 37 were endorsed significantly more often in the autism spectrum disorder group. The total Social Communication Questionnaire score did not vary by age or gender. Internal consistency was excellent (alpha = 0.92). In the receiver operating characteristic analysis, the area under the curve for the total score showed excellent discrimination between autism spectrum disorder and typically developing children (area under the curve = 0.95; 95% confidence interval: 0.93–0.97). The areas under the curve for the scale subscores were 0.923 (95% confidence interval: 0.898–0.949) for the social interaction score, 0.872 (95% confidence interval: 0.838–0.905) for the communication score, and 0.856 (95% confidence interval: 0.819–0.893) for the repetitive behaviors score. The findings support the use of the Arabic Social Communication Questionnaire to successfully differentiate children with clinically diagnosed autism spectrum disorder using the established cutoff value for the English version.
Highlights
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by impairments in communication and social interaction, repetitive behaviors, and limited areas of interest that manifest in the first 3 years of life (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2013)
Early clinical intervention remarkably decreases the financial burden of ASD, and the estimated cost savings have been shown to outweigh the costs of early intensive behavioral intervention programs (PetersScheffer et al, 2012)
Our study is the first to assess the use of the SCQ screening tool in an Arabic-speaking population, which worldwide is estimated to number 420 million individuals (United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, 2017)
Summary
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder that is characterized by impairments in communication and social interaction, repetitive behaviors, and limited areas of interest that manifest in the first 3 years of life (American Psychiatric Association (APA), 2013). Diagnosis and intervention have been shown to significantly improve cognitive and adaptive behavior and reduce the severity of ASD (Dawson et al, 2010). Early clinical intervention remarkably decreases the financial burden of ASD, and the estimated cost savings have been shown to outweigh the costs of early intensive behavioral intervention programs (PetersScheffer et al, 2012). Research has shown that early detection and ensuing intervention can be achieved with the use of validated screening tools (Allen et al, 2007). Limited access to cross-culturally validated Autism 23(7). Screening and diagnostic tools for ASD poses major challenges to clinicians and researchers worldwide. There are few validated screening tools for Arabicspeaking individuals (Mohamed et al, 2016; Seif Eldin et al, 2008)
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