Development of a Brief Parent-Report Screen for Common Gastrointestinal Disorders in Autism Spectrum Disorder

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Gastroenterology
• Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Gastrointestinal (GI) dysfunction is prevalent in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
• GI issues in ASD are linked to increased problem behaviors and reduced quality of life.
• Accurate identification of GI disorders in ASD is crucial for effective management.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a brief, parent-report screening tool.
• To identify children with ASD at risk for functional constipation, functional diarrhea, or gastroesophageal reflux disease.
• To minimize reliance on the child's self-report of pain.

Main Methods:

• Development of a 17-item parent-report questionnaire.
• Administration of the screen to a clinical sample of children with ASD.
• Analysis of the screen's sensitivity, specificity, and positive predictive value.

Main Results:

• The 17-item screen demonstrated a sensitivity of 84%.
• The screen achieved a specificity of 43% and a positive predictive value of 67%.
• The tool effectively identified children with ASD experiencing one or more target GI disorders.

Conclusions:

• The developed parent-report screen shows promise for identifying GI disorders in children with ASD.
• Further validation in an independent sample is needed.
• This tool could be valuable for both clinical practice and research in ASD and GI health.