An Exploration of Online and In-Person Administration of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Second Edition (KBIT-2) in Children and Adolescents Being Evaluated for Autism Spectrum Disorder.

PURPOSE:  Most assessment tools used to diagnose and characterize autism spectrum disorder (ASD) were developed for in-person administration. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic resulted in the need to adapt traditional assessment tools for online administration with only minimal evidence to support validity of such practices. METHODS: The current exploratory study compared scores from online administration of the Kaufman Brief Intelligence Test, Second Edition (KBIT-2) during the pandemic to scores derived from follow-up testing using traditional in-person administration. Participants were 47 children and adolescents (M age = 9.48 years, SD = 4.06; 68.10% male) who participated in a telehealth diagnostic evaluation for ASD that included online administration of the KBIT-2. Participants were invited to complete the KBIT-2 a second time during an in-person study visit. RESULTS: Pearson's correlation coefficients suggested acceptable to good reliability between online and in-person administration. Although most participants' online and in-person scores were within one standard deviation of each other, results suggested statistically significant differences between scores derived from the two modalities. Additionally, 19-26% of participants (depending on domain examined) had scores that differed by more than one standard deviation. Notably, all but one of these participants was under the age of 12 years. CONCLUSION: Findings suggest that online administration of the KBIT-2 is likely appropriate for older children and adolescents with ASD. However, additional research is needed to test online administration of intellectual assessments for children with ASD.

Consistency between parent report and direct assessment of development in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder and other delays: Does sex assigned at birth matter?

The current study examined differences between parent report and diagnostician direct assessment of receptive language, expressive language, and fine motor abilities in toddlers with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other delays. Additionally, this study examined whether parent-diagnostician consistency varied by child diagnosis and sex assigned at birth (SAB). Initial mixed analysis of variances (ANOVAs) were conducted using data from a sample of 646 toddlers to examine whether parent-diagnostician consistency differed by child diagnosis. Matched samples (using child age, SAB, and nonverbal IQ) were then created within each diagnostic group and mixed ANOVAs were conducted to examine if consistency was similar in matched diagnostic subsamples and whether it differed by SAB. Findings from the full sample mostly replicated previous research that has documented consistency between parent report and direct observation regardless of child diagnosis. However, when examined in matched diagnostic subgroups, more nuanced patterns were observed. Parent report of receptive language was lower in ASD and ASD features subgroups and parent report of fine motor skills was lower than direct observation in the ASD, ASD features, and developmental delay groups. When examining the moderating effect of SAB, only expressive language was impacted for children in the ASD group. Results indicate the importance of considering child demographic characteristics and that child SAB may impact parent report and/or diagnostician perception of expressive language.

Examination of Clinical and Assessment Type Differences Between Toddlers with ASD from Multiplex and Simplex Families.

Few studies have examined differences in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) phenotype between children from multiplex and simplex families at the time of diagnosis. The present study used an age- and gender-matched, community-based sample (n = 105) from the southwestern United States to examine differences in ASD symptom severity, cognitive development, and adaptive functioning. No significant differences between children from multiplex and simplex families were observed. Exploratory analysis revealed that parents underreported receptive and expressive language and fine motor skills compared to professional observation, especially among children from multiplex families. These findings suggest that diagnosticians may need to consider family structure when choosing and interpreting assessments of receptive language, expressive language, and fine motor skills.