Evaluation of clinical assessments of social abilities for use in autism clinical trials by the autism biomarkers consortium for clinical trials.

Clinical trials in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often rely on clinician rating scales and parent surveys to measure autism-related features and social behaviors. To aid in the selection of these assessments for future clinical trials, the Autism Biomarkers Consortium for Clinical Trials (ABC-CT) directly compared eight common instruments with respect to acquisition rates, sensitivity to group differences, equivalence across demographic sub-groups, convergent validity, and stability over a 6-week period. The sample included 280 children diagnosed with ASD (65 girls) and 119 neurotypical children (36 girls) aged from 6 to 11 years. Full scale IQ for ASD ranged from 60 to 150 and for neurotypical ranged from 86 to 150. Instruments measured clinician global assessment and autism-related behaviors, social communication abilities, adaptive function, and social withdrawal behavior. For each instrument, we examined only the scales that measured social or communication functioning. Data acquisition rates were at least 97.5% at T1 and 95.7% at T2. All scales distinguished diagnostic groups. Some scales significantly differed by participant and/or family demographic characteristics. Within the ASD group, most clinical instruments exhibited weak (≥ |0.1|) to moderate (≥ |0.4|) intercorrelations. Short-term stability was moderate (ICC: 0.5-0.75) to excellent (ICC: >0.9) within the ASD group. Variations in the degree of stability may inform viability for different contexts of use, such as identifying clinical subgroups for trials versus serving as a modifiable clinical outcome. All instruments were evaluated in terms of their advantages and potential concerns for use in clinical trials.

The Cultural Adaptation of a Transition Program for Latino Families of Youth with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

During the transition to adulthood, effective and culturally relevant supports are critical for families of youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). There is a dearth of documented program development and research on supports for Spanish-speaking Latino families during this life stage. The present work describes the cultural adaptation process of an evidence-based transition program for Latino families of youth with ASD. A model of the actions necessary to meaningfully conduct a cultural adaptation in this context is described. After implementing the culturally adapted program titled Juntos en la Transición with five Spanish-speaking families, parents reported high social validity of the program through surveys and interviews. The cultural adaptation process followed in this work is important for the further development of programs that address the transition needs of Latino youth with ASD and their families. Our impressions may also be useful to those who aim to develop culturally sensitive and ecologically valid multifamily group intervention programs for families from cultural and linguistic minority groups.

Durante la transición a la adultez, las adaptaciones eficaces y culturalmente relevantes son fundamentales para las familias de jóvenes con trastorno del espectro autista (TEA). Hay una escasez de investigaciones y desarrollo de programas documentados sobre las adaptaciones para las familias latinas de habla hispana durante esta etapa de la vida. El presente trabajo describe el proceso de adaptación cultural de un programa de transición de base fáctica para familias latinas de jóvenes con TEA. Se describe un modelo de las medidas necesarias para llevar a cabo significativamente una adaptación cultural en este contexto. Después de implementar el programa adaptado culturalmente y titulado Juntos en la Transición con cinco familias de habla hispana, los padres informaron una alta validez social del programa mediante encuestas y entrevistas. El proceso de adaptación cultural seguido en este trabajo es importante para el futuro desarrollo de programas que aborden las necesidades de transición de los jóvenes latinos con TEA y sus familias. Nuestras impresiones también pueden ser útiles para aquellos que desean desarrollar programas de intervención en grupos multifamiliares ecológicamente válidos y culturalmente adaptados para familias de grupos culturales y lingüísticos minoritarios.