Evaluation of Technical Quality
Introduction
In Unit 2, the standard test that I had selected is autism. The stated purpose for its use is to administer test to individuals with disabilities particularly on individuals with autism. It is an indication that the population or the psychological condition that is within the standardization of the test is people with autism. Individuals who are suffering from autism have different levels of characteristics whose severity varies which end up affecting the way they interact and communicate with people in different social environments. There are three different autism tests which include Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CAR-2), Autism Spectrum Rating Scales (ASRS) and Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder (CASD). However, each test has some sort of technical quality. In most cases, the test developer identifies it in their article while in other cases it is identified in independent reviews by other individuals. The following is an evaluation of various articles on autism test with the main focus being on the technical quality.
Technical Review Article Summaries
Simek, A. N., & Wahlberg, A. C. (2011). Test review: Autism spectrum rating scales. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 29(2), 191-195.
This article addresses validity because it is measuring what it claims to be measuring. The aim of the authors is to measure the behaviors of children between the ages of two years and eighteen years who are autistic. The parents/caregivers and/or the teachers are responsible for conducting the measuring. The article addresses the evidence of validity by conducting the test in different settings and in more than one form for every child. Through this, it becomes easy to determine the behavior 4 weeks before the rating. The specific type of validity used in this article is convergent because the aim of the authors is to simultaneously measure the same construct correlation between the various environments that the children were exposed to during the study to determine their autistic behavior. The overall results of the research are that Autism Spectrum Rating Scales (ASRS) can comfortably measure the behaviors of children with autistic disorders. When the children were exposed to different environments, they exhibited different behaviors.
Dixon, M., Stanley, C., Belisle, J. & Rowsey, K. (2016). The test-retest and interrater reliability of the promoting the emergence of advanced knowledge-direct training assessment for use with individuals with autism and related disabilities. American Psychological Association, 16(1), 34-40.
The article addresses reliability because it seeks to identify how consistent the results of the study is especially what it is measuring. In this case, the authors have conducted a test and retested the advanced knowledge-direct training assessment with individuals who are autistic or have other disabilities. The article addresses the sources of reliability estimates through the help of PEAK-DT assessment that allowed the authors to test-retest and also interrater the data. The result of the study revealed that both the age-referenced scores and raw scores had high test-retest and interrater reliability. The type of reliability is test-retest since the same test was administered twice in different intervals to obtain coefficient high results. The overall result of the research indicated the PEAK-DK scores were all high with a reading of 92 and above for autistic children who were placed under foundational learning, perceptual learning, and verbal reasoning. It is an indication that all the 10 participants performed better as desired.
Mayes, S. (2014). Diagnosing autism with checklist for autism spectrum disorder. Phenomenology Journal, 10(11), 285-298.
The article addresses the validity of the Checklist for Autism Spectrum Disorder (CASD) especially when used for screening and diagnosing children who are autistic within the entire spectrum. The evidence of validity is that all the children who were suffering from autism scored about the cutoff which was 15 compared to those with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, depression, learning disability, r mental retardation. It is an indication that the authors have provided a reliable estimate for the scores which can be used as a checklist by psychologists and other healthcare providers to diagnose autism. The type of validity used in predictive because the values obtained were used as a criterion for diagnosing the children with autism. The psychometric results of the study indicate that children with high functioning and low functioning autism earned all the scores for CASD while others reached the cutoff score which is 15.
Chlebowski, C., Green, J., Barton, M. & Fein, D. (2013), Using the childhood autism rating scale to diagnose autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord, 40(7), 787-799.
The article addresses reliability because it determines the consistency of the childhood autism rating scale as a strategy for diagnosing autism in children. The authors have accurately addressed reliability estimates by establishing cut-of scores that can be used to distinguish a child who is suffering from an autistic disorder from PDD-NOS in different ages. As a result of the specificity and also sensitivity in the data provided, it became easy to establish if a child was autistic or not. The type of reliability used in this case is internal because the authors sort to use the rating scale as a measure within itself. The psychometric results indicate that CARS score differed in different diagnostic group. For instance, children who were diagnosed as autistic had a higher scores of CARs compared to those with PDD-NOS. The authors also identified that CARS is a reliable tool for measuring autistic severity in a child.
Dixon, M. R., Belisle, J., Stanley, C., Rowsey, K., Daar, J. H., & Szekely, S. (2015). Toward a behavior analysis of complex language for children with autism: Evaluating the relationship between PEAK and the VB-MAPP. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities 27, 223–233.
The article addresses the reliability of the study between two different behavioral language assessments that are being used currently for the main purpose of evaluating autistic individual’s verbal repertoires. The article properly addresses the evidence of reliability through the use of two strategies which include Emergence of Advanced Knowledge Relational Training System (PEAK) together with Verbal Behavior Milestones Assessment and Placement Program (VB-MAPP). The authors suggested that PEAK is more reliable since it offers a more robust way for psychologists to measure advanced language skills in people who are autistics. The specific type of reliability test that this article uses is external reliability assessment since the advanced language skills in autistics people is measured using different strategies VB-MAPP and PEAK. The results of the study indicate that though PEAK was more reliable to use, there was a strong correlation between VB-MAPP and PEAK especially the scores. However, the main reason PEAK is preferred is because it measures a larger set of language skills in people with autism.
Harris, B., Barton, E. E., & Albert, C. (2014). Evaluating autism diagnostic and screening tools for cultural and linguistic responsiveness. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 44(6), 1275-1287
The article addresses validity of different diagnostic and screening tools for evaluating the linguistic responsiveness among individuals with autism. At the same time, the article mainly addresses sources of error variance in the study. According to the authors, misidentification and under-identification of autism spectrum disorders are common among the linguistic and cultural populations. The specific type of validity used in this case is discriminant because it does not in any way measure what it should have because of the misidentifications and under-identification. The overall results of the research including the statistical outcome include children with autism are most likely to be misidentified as a result they end up missing early intervention opportunities which is crucial for their future health. At the same time, the authors found that culturally and linguistically diverse (CLD) and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are a population that is highly complex to understand thus the reason there is a need for appropriate assessment tools to be used in studying them.
Vaughan, C. A. (2011). Test review: E. Schopler, ME Van Bourgondien, GJ Wellman, & SR Love childhood autism rating scale . Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services, 2010. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 29(5), 489-493.
The article addresses the validity of the love childhood autism rating scale in children who are autistic. The article provides evidence of validity by evaluating the different rating forms designed for dragonizing children with autism. For instance, the three rating forms that can be used to identify the major symptoms of ASD include CARS2-HF, CARS2-ST, and CARS-QPC. All of these forms entail different forms of measurement that must not be ignored. It is because they play an important role in the diagnosis and the evaluation of autistic symptoms. The type of reliability used in this case entails criterion whereby the different rating forms have standards whose measures can be used to dragonize a child who is autistic. The overall psychometric results of the research indicate that during the measurement when the different diagnostic tools are used, the factors that are taken into consideration include the intensity and the duration that the children show symptoms. It the best way to have a comprehensive picture of their ability to function regardless of their autistic condition.
Conclusion
It is evident from the different reliable and valid tests that the various authors have conducted that autistic can be diagnosed in different ways. However, only one author’s evaluation was unreliable because they used the discriminatory strategy which makes the study invalid. Nonetheless, the remaining six articles evaluated clearly showed that the autistic test is valid and reliable that can be properly implemented in various settings. I deem this test to be appropriate for my planned use in the field and with the population to be served because there is enough valuable data that can be used as a source of reference. At the same time, it is evident that there are different autistic test strategies and tools that can be implemented in different ways. These will play an important role in forming a basis through which my study will be conducted on the autistic population which is a group of special people in the society. Based on this fact, conducting the study will not be difficult since I intend to use any of the tools or measure methods to diagnose and manage children and adults with autism.
References
Chlebowski, C., Green, J., Barton, M. & Fein, D. (2013), Using the childhood autism rating scale to diagnose autism spectrum disorders. J Autism Dev Disord, 40(7), 787-799.
Dixon, M. R., Belisle, J., Stanley, C., Rowsey, K., Daar, J. H., & Szekely, S. (2015). Toward a behavior analysis of complex language for children with autism: Evaluating the relationship between PEAK and the VB-MAPP. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities 27, 223–233.
Dixon, M., Stanley, C., Belisle, J. & Rowsey, K. (2016). The test-retest and interrater reliability of the promoting the emergence of advanced knowledge-direct training assessment for use with individuals with autism and related disabilities. American Psychological Association, 16(1), 34-40.
Harris, B., Barton, E. E., & Albert, C. (2014). Evaluating autism diagnostic and screening tools for cultural and linguistic responsiveness. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 44(6), 1275-1287
Mayes, S. (2014). Diagnosing autism with checklist for autism spectrum disorder. Phenomenology Journal, 10(11), 285-298.
Simek, A. N., & Wahlberg, A. C. (2011). Test review: Autism spectrum rating scales. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 29(2), 191-195.
Vaughan, C. A. (2011). Test review: E. Schopler, ME Van Bourgondien, GJ Wellman, & SR Love childhood autism rating scale. Los Angeles, CA: Western Psychological Services, 2010. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 29(5), 489-493.