The diagnosis of autism is a comprehensive process that requires trained professionals and is often a time consuming process. Behavior rating scales are common components used by practitioners in evaluations to assess various social, emotional, or behavioral problems. With the rise of awareness, the steady increase of autism diagnoses, and the importance of early identification to increase the effectiveness of intervention, there is a need for screeners to identify the characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders. The purpose of the present study was to determine if there was a group of items on the Child Behavior Checklist/1.5-5 that reliably distinguished between children with autism and referred, but non-spectrum children. A behavior rating scale was completed by parents and/or guardians of 156 preschool children with autism and without autism. Analyses of the data revealed a grouping of items that were significantly correlated with the diagnosis of autism. Based on predetermined cutoff scores, sensitivity, and specificity; the group of items may be useful in the recommendation of further assessment of autism.
","abstract_html":"<p>The diagnosis of autism is a comprehensive process that requires trained professionals and is often a time consuming process. Behavior rating scales are common components used by practitioners in evaluations to assess various social, emotional, or behavioral problems. With the rise of awareness, the steady increase of autism diagnoses, and the importance of early identification to increase the effectiveness of intervention, there is a need for screeners to identify the characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders. The purpose of the present study was to determine if there was a group of items on the Child Behavior Checklist/1.5-5 that reliably distinguished between children with autism and referred, but non-spectrum children. A behavior rating scale was completed by parents and/or guardians of 156 preschool children with autism and without autism. Analyses of the data revealed a grouping of items that were significantly correlated with the diagnosis of autism. Based on predetermined cutoff scores, sensitivity, and specificity; the group of items may be useful in the recommendation of further assessment of autism.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Orten, Heather Rhea"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Specialist in Education","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Department of Psychology","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Dr. Carl Myers (Director), Dr. Reagan Brown, Dr. Fredrick Grieve"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2012,"date_issued":"2012-08-01T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2012-08-01T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:16Z","subjects":["autism diagnosis","behavior rating scales","Autism Spectrum Disorders","Curriculum and Instruction","Developmental Psychology","Disability and Equity in Education","School Psychology","Special Education and Teaching"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1182","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Dr. Carl Myers (Director), Dr. Reagan Brown, Dr. Fredrick Grieve"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Orten, Heather Rhea"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Department of Psychology"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Specialist in Education"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["autism diagnosis","behavior rating scales","Autism Spectrum Disorders","Curriculum and Instruction","Developmental Psychology","Disability and Equity in Education","School Psychology","Special Education and Teaching"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1182"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The diagnosis of autism is a comprehensive process that requires trained professionals and is often a time consuming process. Behavior rating scales are common components used by practitioners in evaluations to assess various social, emotional, or behavioral problems. With the rise of awareness, the steady increase of autism diagnoses, and the importance of early identification to increase the effectiveness of intervention, there is a need for screeners to identify the characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders. The purpose of the present study was to determine if there was a group of items on the Child Behavior Checklist/1.5-5 that reliably distinguished between children with autism and referred, but non-spectrum children. A behavior rating scale was completed by parents and/or guardians of 156 preschool children with autism and without autism. Analyses of the data revealed a grouping of items that were significantly correlated with the diagnosis of autism. Based on predetermined cutoff scores, sensitivity, and specificity; the group of items may be useful in the recommendation of further assessment of autism.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["An Item Analysis of the Child Behavior Checklist with Preschool Children with Autism"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Dr. Carl Myers (Director), Dr. Reagan Brown, Dr. Fredrick Grieve"],"dc:creator":["Orten, Heather Rhea"],"dc:description.abstract":["The diagnosis of autism is a comprehensive process that requires trained professionals and is often a time consuming process. Behavior rating scales are common components used by practitioners in evaluations to assess various social, emotional, or behavioral problems. With the rise of awareness, the steady increase of autism diagnoses, and the importance of early identification to increase the effectiveness of intervention, there is a need for screeners to identify the characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorders. The purpose of the present study was to determine if there was a group of items on the Child Behavior Checklist/1.5-5 that reliably distinguished between children with autism and referred, but non-spectrum children. A behavior rating scale was completed by parents and/or guardians of 156 preschool children with autism and without autism. Analyses of the data revealed a grouping of items that were significantly correlated with the diagnosis of autism. Based on predetermined cutoff scores, sensitivity, and specificity; the group of items may be useful in the recommendation of further assessment of autism.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://digitalcommons.wku.edu/theses/1182"],"dc:subject":["autism diagnosis","behavior rating scales","Autism Spectrum Disorders","Curriculum and Instruction","Developmental Psychology","Disability and Equity in Education","School Psychology","Special Education and Teaching"],"dc:title":["An Item Analysis of the Child Behavior Checklist with Preschool Children with Autism"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Department of Psychology"],"thesis:degree_name":["Specialist in Education"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T06:08:16Z"}