Considerations for Establishing a Multi-Tiered Problem-Solving Model for Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders and Comorbid Emotional-Behavioral Disorders

Vineland-3 Structural Validity and Interpretability of Domain Scores: Implications for Practitioners Assessing Adolescents With Developmental Conditions

The Vineland-3 purports to measure three dimensions of adaptive behavior, but empirical evidence pertaining to its structural validity is lacking. In this study, factor analyses were conducted on the standardization sample data for the comprehensive forms within the 11- to 20-year-old age range. Results did not support the three domain structure of the test and indicated domain scores did not add additional information about an individual's adaptive performance that was not already accounted for by the Adaptive Behavior Composite (ABC) score alone. Practitioners assessing adolescents with developmental conditions should consider using the ABC score within a multimethod assessment protocol for the various purposes of adaptive behavior assessment including the identification of intellectual disability.

Utility of the CBCL DSM-Oriented Scales in Assessing Emotional Disorders in Youth with Autism

BACKGROUND

Youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are at risk for one or more emotional disorders (ED) including depressive and anxiety conditions. DSM-5 diagnostic guidelines indicate that co-occurring ED must be specified when present (APA, 2013). While ED may be evaluated for during initial diagnostic assessment, routine monitoring and screening is needed to identify emerging ED in later childhood and adolescence, a period of high risk.

METHOD

Confirmatory factor analysis, convergent and divergent validity analyses, criterion-related validity, and diagnostic accuracy analyses of the CBCL's Affective Problems and Anxiety Problems DSM Oriented Scales was completed on 93 well-characterized youth, ages 6 to 18 years with ASD (6:1 M:F), with and without intellectual impairment. These youth were from predominately white, middle-class backgrounds.

RESULTS

Each scale measured a single construct reliably (depressive and anxiety disorders), neither scale measured symptoms of ASD, and youth with a depressive disorder had other ED co-morbidities.

CONCLUSIONS

Findings demonstrate the DSM Oriented Affective and Anxiety Problem Scales can be used to screen for depression and anxiety in youth with ASD. Replication is needed with various subgroups representing gender, age, developmental level, autism, and mental health severity differences, and with groups across a broader set of demographics.

Educational interventions for children with ASD: A systematic literature review 2008–2013

Systematic literature reviews can play a key role in underpinning evidence-based practice. To date, large-scale reviews of interventions for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have focused primarily on research quality. To assist practitioners, the current review adopted a broader framework which allowed for greater consideration of educational utility. Between July and August 2013, 20 databases were searched, alongside web searches and hand searches, to identify ASD intervention studies published between 2008 and 2013. This search yielded 6,232 articles and the subsequent screening and evaluation process identified 85 best evidence studies. Studies were grouped into categories and individual interventions were assessed and classified as providing most; moderate; some; or a small amount of evidence. Interventions with most evidence tended to focus on younger children and core difficulties associated with ASD. Emerging trends, such as increasing evidence for technology-based interventions and peer-mediated interventions, were identified. An encouraging finding for practitioners is that in 59% of the studies, interventions were undertaken with or by school staff. Implications for school psychology practice as well as factors to consider when selecting educational interventions are discussed.

Transdiagnostic Case Conceptualization of Emotional Problems in Youth with ASD: An Emotion Regulation Approach

Youth with autism spectrum disorder often struggle to cope with co-occurring anxiety, depression, or anger, and having both internalizing and externalizing symptoms is a common clinical presentation. A number of authors have designed cognitive-behavioral interventions to address transdiagnostic factors related to multiple emotional problems, although none have applied this focus to youth with ASD. The current review article describes how a transdiagnostic emotion regulation framework may inform cognitive-behavioral interventions for youth with ASD, which until now have focused almost exclusively on anxiety. Research is needed to empirically test how a transdiagnostic intervention can address the processes of emotion regulation and assist youth with ASD to cope with their emotional disorders.

Validity Study of the CBCL 6-18 for the Assessment of Emotional Problems in Youth With ASD

Youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often present with emotional problems such as anxiety and depression (American Psychiatric Association, 2013). A recent study of the Child Behavior Checklist 6-18 (CBCL; Achenbach & Rescorla, 2001) indicated good sensitivity but relatively low specificity for identifying emotional problems in youth with ASD. The current study examined the extent to which variance in the CBCL's Anxious/Depressed, Withdrawn/Depressed, Internalizing Domain, and Total Problems scales was accounted for by symptoms of emotional problems relative to ASD symptoms. Correlation and multiple regression analyses indicated that these scales measured anxiety and depression but a small statistically significant proportion of variance in Total Problems scores was also accounted for by ASD symptoms. Results contribute to the emerging evidence base for the inclusion of the CBCL in assessment protocols for assessing emotional and behavioral problems in youth with ASD.