Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 9, 2026
Use of a Video Scoring Anchor for Rapid Serial Assessment of Social Communication in Toddlers
Published on: March 14, 2018
Efficacy of three screening instruments in the identification of autistic-spectrum disorders
Tony Charman1, Gillian Baird, Emily Simonoff
1Behavioural and Brain Sciences Unit, UCL Institute of Child Health, 30 Guilford Street, London WC1N 1EH, UK. t.charman@ich.ucl.ac.uk
Background:
Screening instruments for autistic-spectrum disorders have not been compared in the same sample.
Aims:
To compare the Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ), the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and the Children's Communication Checklist (CCC).
Method:
Screen and diagnostic assessments on 119 children between 9 and 13 years of age with special educational needs with and without autistic-spectrum disorders were weighted to estimate screen characteristics for a realistic target population.
Results:
The SCQ performed best (area under receiver operating characteristic curve (AUC)=0.90; sensitivity 0.86; specificity 0.78). The SRS had a lower AUC (0.77) with high sensitivity (0.78) and moderate specificity (0.67). The CCC had a high sensitivity but lower specificity (AUC=0.79; sensitivity 0.93; specificity 0.46). The AUC of the SRS and CCC was lower for children with IQ < 70. Behaviour problems reduced specificity for all three instruments.
Conclusions:
The SCQ, SRS and CCC showed strong to moderate ability to identify autistic-spectrum disorder in this at-risk sample of school-age children with special educational needs.
