Spanish Validation of the Autism Spectrum Quotient for Children (AQ-Child-SV)

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a lifelong, heterogeneous neurodevelopmental condition characterized by difficulties in social communication and stereotyped patterns of behaviors and interests. The prevalence of ASD has increased in the last decades, and research has widened its study to the Broader Autism Phenotype (BAP). Therefore, it is important to develop effective screening tools to detect ASD and BAP in the general population. The Autism Spectrum Quotient, Children´s version (AQ-Child) is a 50-item parent-report questionnaire developed to assess autistic traits in children aged 4-11 years. The aim of this study was to translate and culturally adapt the AQ-Child to Spanish as part of a school-based screening program in Salamanca, Castile and León, Spain.

The AQ-Child was translated, pilot-tested, and administered online through the Qualtrics platform of the University of Salamanca to a school population sample (n = 602).

A total of 45 cases scored at or above the established cut-off point of 76 points on the Spanish version of the AQ-Child (AQ-Child-SV) and 18 scored between 70 and 75 points. The results showed a significant difference in AQ-Child-SV scores between children who received an ASD diagnosis and children with no suspicion of ASD in the general population. For the AQ-Child-SV sensitivity was 0.83 and the specificity was 0.96. Positive and negative predictive values were 0.55 and 0.99 respectively.

The data from this study indicates that the Spanish version of the AQ-Child could be a reliable instrument for screening autism spectrum disorder and the BAP in school-age children.