Diagnostic Accuracy of the Children's Communication Checklist-Persian in Identifying Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Abstract

Background: This study examined the diagnostic accuracy of the children's communication checklist-Persian version (CCC-Persian) in differentiating children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) from typically developing (TD) children. Methods: The parents of 47 children with ASD and the parents of 104 TD children completed the CCC-Persian. The children were monolingual Persian-speakers between 5 and 11 years of age. The sensitivity, specificity, likelihood ratios, and cut-off score of the CCC-Persian were calculated in identifying children with ASD. Results: The mean pragmatic composite score (PCS) of the CCC-Persian was significantly lower in children with ASD than in the TD children (P>0.05). Corresponding cut-off score, sensitivity, and specificity were 107, 86, and 97, respectively. The positive and negative likelihood ratios were obtained as about 30 and 0.14, respectively. Conclusion: The CCC-Persian has the potential to be used as a valid clinical tool for diagnosing pragmatic language impairment or screening ASD in Persian-speaking children.