Brief report: telephone administration of the autism diagnostic interview--revised: reliability and suitability for use in research

J Autism Dev Disord. 2010 Oct;40(10):1285-90. doi: 10.1007/s10803-010-0987-x.

Abstract

The Autism Diagnostic Interview--revised is one of the "gold standard" diagnostic tools for autism spectrum disorders. It is traditionally administered face-to-face. Cost and geographical concerns constrain the employment of the ADI-R for large-scale research projects. The telephone interview is a reasonable alternative, but has not yet been examined for reliability with face-to-face administration. In this study, participants were interviewed both face-to-face and on the telephone using the complete ADI-R interview. Results indicate that there was no significant difference between the algorithm scores or the diagnoses arrived at for face-to-face and telephone administrations. Reliability statistics across the two modalities were very good and indicate that telephone interviews using the ADI-R are a viable option for researchers.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Validation Study

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Analysis of Variance
  • Autistic Disorder / diagnosis*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Interview, Psychological
  • Interviews as Topic*
  • Male
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Young Adult