Department of Psychology, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
J Intellect Disabil Res. 2011 Mar;55(3):302-12. doi: 10.1111/j.1365-2788.2010.01359.x. Epub 2011 Jan 4.
There are few well validated brief measures that can be used to assess the general progress of young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) over time. In the present study, the Autism Treatment Evaluation Checklist (ATEC) was used as part of a comprehensive assessment battery to monitor the progress of 22 school-aged children with ASD who had previously taken part in intensive home- or school-based intervention programmes in their pre-school years.
Parents completed the ATEC when the children were on average 5.5 years and then again 5-6 years later (mean age 10.4 years). Standardised measures were also used to assess cognitive, language and adaptive behaviour skills and severity of autism symptoms over the same period.
The ATEC had high internal consistency at both time points. ATEC total and sub-scale scores remained relatively stable over time and were highly and significantly correlated with cognitive, language and adaptive behaviour skills and severity of autism symptoms at both assessment points. Initial ATEC total scores predicted 64% of the variance in scores at the subsequent follow-up. However, there was also considerable variation in the patterns of scores shown by individual children over time.
This study provides some preliminary evidence of the ATEC's potential value for monitoring progress of children with ASD over time. Its advantages and limitations are discussed in the context of the need systematically to monitor the progress of children with ASD over time or in response to intervention.
目前很少有经过充分验证的简短措施可以用于评估自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）儿童随时间的总体进展。在本研究中，自闭症治疗评估检查表（ATEC）被用作综合评估工具的一部分，以监测 22 名学龄自闭症儿童的进展，这些儿童在学前期间曾参加过密集的家庭或学校为基础的干预计划。
当儿童平均年龄为 5.5 岁时，父母完成了 ATEC，然后在 5-6 年后再次完成（平均年龄为 10.4 岁）。同期还使用标准化措施评估认知、语言和适应行为技能以及自闭症症状的严重程度。
ATEC 在两个时间点均具有较高的内部一致性。ATEC 总分和子量表得分随时间相对稳定，与认知、语言和适应行为技能以及自闭症症状的严重程度在两个评估点均高度相关且显著相关。初始 ATEC 总分预测了随后随访时的分数变化的 64%。然而，个别儿童随时间表现出的分数模式也存在相当大的差异。
本研究为 ATEC 随时间监测自闭症儿童进展的潜在价值提供了一些初步证据。讨论了其优点和局限性，以及在需要系统地监测自闭症儿童的进展或响应干预的背景下使用该工具的必要性。
