Choosing Performance-Based Outcome Measures of Daily Living Skills and Socialization for Clinical Trials in Autistic Children

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

IMPORTANCE: Robust and psychometrically sound performance-based outcome measures are needed for clinical trials of occupational therapy interventions for children with autism. OBJECTIVE: To demonstrate a systematic approach for choosing psychometrically sound performance-based outcome measures of daily living skills and socialization for use in clinical trials of occupational therapy interventions for children with autism. DESIGN: Rapid literature review to identify appropriate measures for studies with this population followed by quality indicator ratings and a nominal group process. SETTING: University. PARTICIPANTS: Four experts in autism and pediatric outcome measurement. Outcomes and Measures: Twenty-one outcome measures of daily living skills and socialization were identified and reviewed. RESULTS: Seven measures met the inclusion criteria. The Assessment of Motor and Process Skills and the Evaluation of Social Interaction-Second Edition, received the highest ratings and group consensus. Several other measures were also scored highly. CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE: Careful assessment of psychometric properties is an important component of choosing outcome measures for a clinical trial, but burden of assessment and study objectives are important considerations. What This Article Adds: This project demonstrates use of a systematic process for choosing outcome measures for a planned clinical trial.