Development of Autism Spectrum Disorder Scale and its Psychometric Properties

Abstract

Autism spectrum disorder scale was developed for the use of diagnoses purpose of autism. This scale is consisting of 15 items in Pakistan’s indigenous language Urdu. Most autism assessment tools are available in English and were developed by Western cultures; however, when those tools are used in different cultures, biased results can be evident. So, a culture-friendly tool was dire need to be developed. A scale was developed and administered to individuals (N=143) with autism using standard procedures from item pooling to standardization of scale. The sample was selected from different cities in Pakistan through a convenient sampling technique. Rotated component matrix analysis, factors loading, sample adequacy KMO and CFI tests were performed using SPSS and AMOS. The convergent validity test demonstrated that there is a significant correlation (r=0.81, p=.00) at the 0.01 alpha level with CARS on the sample of n=50. The indigenous scale also confirmed good test-retest reliability (r=0. 950, p=.000) at a 0.01 alpha level, which indicated that the scale is a valid and reliable measure for diagnosing individuals with an autism spectrum disorder. This scale can be used by researchers, psychologists, and psychiatrists for the general population to measure the prevalence and for diagnosis.