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This report examines the effectiveness of the Spanish-translated Social Communication Questionnaire in detecting autism in children in Quito, Ecuador.

June 4, 2026Autism

Short Report: Limited Sensitivity and Specificity of the Spanish Social Communication Questionnaire in a Clinic Sample in Quito, Ecuador

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JSJonathan Safer‐LichtensteinUniversity of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus JVJenniffer VillarrealUniversidad Internacional del Ecuador LFLucas FernandezUniversity of Colorado Denver

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Short report evaluates diagnostic accuracy of SCQ in identifying autism among children in Quito, suggesting limited usefulness.

Key Points

This report examines the effectiveness of the Spanish-translated Social Communication Questionnaire in detecting autism in children in Quito, Ecuador.
Caregivers of 94 children aged 4-18 completed the SCQ Lifetime form during diagnostic evaluations.
Assessments included cognitive testing, developmental history, and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition.
Psychometric properties, including sensitivity and specificity, were calculated.
The SCQ demonstrated an area under the curve (AUC) of .60, indicating poor diagnostic accuracy.
At the cut score of 15, sensitivity was .56 and specificity was .60; at a lower cut score of 11, sensitivity increased to .72 but specificity decreased to .43.
Findings suggest limited utility of the SCQ for autism screening in this clinical population.

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Safer‐Lichtenstein et al. (2026) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/6a211763d499ed480b17031c https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613261452239

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Short Report: Limited Sensitivity and Specificity of the Spanish Social Communication Questionnaire in a Clinic Sample in Quito, Ecuador

Discussion

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Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Short Report: Limited Sensitivity and Specificity of the Spanish Social Communication Questionnaire in a Clinic Sample in Quito, Ecuador

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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