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Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) Correspondence and Conflicts with DSM-IV Criteria in Diagnosis of Autism

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Abstract

Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) are tests widely used for screening and diagnosis of autism. This study verified their correspondence and conflict with a diagnosis made with DSM-IV criteria. The sample consisted of 65 children, aged 18 months to 11 years. We found complete agreement between DSM-IV and CARS. We show that ABC does not distinguish individuals with autistic disorders from other cases of developmental disorders as well as CARS: the number of false negatives is high (46%) with ABC as opposed to 0% with CARS.

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Correspondence to E. Rellini.

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Rellini, E., Tortolani, D., Trillo, S. et al. Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) and Autism Behavior Checklist (ABC) Correspondence and Conflicts with DSM-IV Criteria in Diagnosis of Autism. J Autism Dev Disord 34, 703–708 (2004). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-004-5290-2

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-004-5290-2

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