1
|
Racine E, Taylor BP, Ferretti CJ, Doernberg E, Noone R, Nezgovorova V, Vats T, Hollander E. Challenges in assessing change in autistic adults: scale limitations and discrepancies in reporting in clinical trials. Int J Psychiatry Clin Pract 2022; 26:3-7. [PMID: 33779470 DOI: 10.1080/13651501.2021.1900871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder marked by deficits in social communication and social interaction, together with restricted and/or repetitive patterns of behaviours, activities or interests. As more adults are being diagnosed with ASD, and more diagnosed children are aging into adulthood, the need for effective treatments and support services for autistic adults is quickly growing. As such, clinical research targeting autistic adults has emerged in recent years. Currently, caregiver ratings are commonly used as outcome measures in child treatment studies, but these scales present challenges when utilised to assess the autistic adult population. In this commentary, we seek to unveil the difficulties and obstacles in assessing change in clinical treatment trials for autistic adults. Specifically, this article uses case examples to explore the limitations of rating scales. Steps for improving the accuracy of ratings, and for developing novel self-rating scales for autistic adults are discussed. It is hoped that in exploring these difficulties in more depth, clinical research with adult ASD populations will continue to improve and that reliable, valid and sensitive outcome measures will be developed to ensure the highest quality treatments emerge.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Emma Racine
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Bonnie P Taylor
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Casara J Ferretti
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Ellen Doernberg
- Department of Psychological Sciences, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH, USA
| | - Rachel Noone
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Vera Nezgovorova
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Tarini Vats
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
| | - Eric Hollander
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Albert Einstein College of Medicine, Montefiore Medical Center, Bronx, NY, USA
| |
Collapse
|