Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) correspondence and conflicts with DSM-IV criteria in diagnosis of autism

E Rellini; D Tortolani; S Trillo; S Carbone; F Montecchi

doi:10.1007/s10803-004-5290-2

Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) correspondence and conflicts with DSM-IV criteria in diagnosis of autism

J Autism Dev Disord. 2004 Dec;34(6):703-8. doi: 10.1007/s10803-004-5290-2.

Authors

E Rellini¹, D Tortolani, S Trillo, S Carbone, F Montecchi

Affiliation

¹ Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesu' di Roma. erellini@tiscali.it

PMID: 15679189
DOI: 10.1007/s10803-004-5290-2

Abstract

Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) are tests widely used for screening and diagnosis of autism. This study verified their correspondence and conflict with a diagnosis made with DSM-IV criteria. The sample consisted of 65 children, aged 18 months to 11 years. We found complete agreement between DSM-IV and CARS. We show that ABC does not distinguish individuals with autistic disorders from other cases of developmental disorders as well as CARS: the number of false negatives is high (46%) with ABC as opposed to 0% with CARS.

MeSH terms

Autistic Disorder / diagnosis*
Autistic Disorder / psychology
Child
Child Behavior Disorders / diagnosis*
Child Behavior Disorders / etiology
Child, Preschool
Diagnosis, Differential
Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders*
Female
Humans
Infant
Male
Reproducibility of Results
Severity of Illness Index
Surveys and Questionnaires*