Pervasive developmental disorder in the children of immigrant parents: Comparison of different assessment instruments

Abstract

The objective of this study was to describe how the Childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS) behaves in relation to the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS) and to clinical diagnosis based on the criteria defined in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, 4th Edition (DSM-IV) for children of immigrant parents. Forty-nine children of parents who had immigrated to Canada were evaluated. In this sample, the ADOS and the DSM-IV showed complete agreement. Using the standard cut-off point of 30, the CARS showed high specificity and poor sensitivity. The study proposes a cut-off point for the CARS that would include pervasive developmental disorder - not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS). Reducing the cut-off point to 20/21 increased the specificity of the instrument for this group of children without significantly reducing its sensitivity.