The ESSENCE-Q: Can specialist supervision improve scoring agreement across specialist and public health nurses/nursery teachers?

AIM: This study aimed to explore whether the supervision of community public health nurses (PHNs) and nursery school teachers (NSTs) by a specialist, familiar with Early Symptomatic Syndromes Eliciting Neurodevelopmental Clinical Examinations (ESSENCE), improved the agreement of ESSENCE-Questionnaire (ESSENCE-Q) scoring, across raters. METHODS: A PHN, two NSTs, and a speech-language pathologist (SLP), familiar with ESSENCE, independently assessed 32 children. The ESSENCE-Q results were divided into the first (child 1-18) and second groups (the 19th child and the following children). Changes in score discrepancies were analysed for ESSENCE-Q cutoff scores and total ESSENCE-Q scores across raters. The SLP scores were used as a reference to evaluate sensitivity and specificity. RESULTS: The total ESSENCE-Q scores of the PHN and NSTs showed higher concordance in the second group (p < 0.05). Comparisons of the differences between the PHN/NSTs and SLP in total ESSENCE-Q scores showed a significantly smaller difference in the NSTs' scores in the second group (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: The findings suggest that specialist supervision may lead to a better agreement between PHN and NSTs regarding ESSENCE-Q scores.

Whether the Autism Spectrum Quotient consists of two different subgroups? Cluster analysis of the Autism Spectrum Quotient in general population.

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether the individuals in the general population with high scores on the Autism Spectrum Quotient constituted a single homogeneous group or not. A cohort of university students (n = 4901) was investigated by cluster analysis based on the original five subscales of the Autism Spectrum Quotient. Based on the results of the analysis, the students could be divided into six clusters: the first with low scores on all the five subscales, the second with high scores on only the 'attention to detail' subscale, the third and fourth with intermediate scores on all the subscales, the fifth with high scores on four of the five subscales but low scores on the 'attention to detail' subscale and the sixth with high scores on all the five subscales. The students with high total Autism Spectrum Quotient scores (n = 166) were divided into two groups: one with high scores on four subscales but low scores on the 'attention to detail' subscale and the other with high scores on all the five subscales. The results of this study suggested that individuals from the general population with high Autism Spectrum Quotient scores may consist of two qualitatively different groups.

The Autism-Spectrum Quotient in university students: pattern of changes in its scores and associated factors.

INTRODUCTION: Support to university students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is becoming increasingly important. To determine the validity of the Autism-Spectrum Quotient (AQ) for ASD screening of university students, we conducted longitudinal measurements of the AQ in a large sample of university students and investigated the possibility of changes in the AQ and associated factors. METHODS: The AQ, University Personality Inventory (UPI), and the willingness of the students to be interviewed were determined at admission in students from four departments of Kochi University; the AQ was determined again in the second year. Changes in the AQ and associated factors were analyzed statistically. RESULTS: The number of valid responses in the initial survey was 3427 (87.2%). The AQ was significantly higher in the group with high UPI scores (F = 156.08, P < 0.001). Of the 486 students interviewed at admission, 22 had suspected ASD. The sensitivity/specificity of the AQ for ASD was 81.8%/92.0%. A total of 319 (11.0%) students responded to the second-year survey, which revealed significant decrease of the AQ in the group with high AQ values at admission. DISCUSSION: The AQ measured at admission was correlated with the UPI score, regardless of the sex or department; in the second survey, the scores decreased significantly in those with high AQ values at admission, suggesting that an unstable mental state can produce a temporary increase of the AQ scores.