Within-task variability on standardized language tests predicts autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study of the Response Dispersion Index
Within-task variability on standardized language tests predicts autism spectrum disorder: a pilot study of the Response Dispersion Index
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DOI：
10.1186/s11689-019-9283-z
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发表时间：
2019-09-13
影响因子：
4.9
通讯作者：
Brzustowicz, Linda M.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Hare-Harris, Abby E.;Mitchel, Marissa W.;Brzustowicz, Linda M.
背景 以发展领域内非顺序技能习得为特征的定性非典型语言发展，被称为发展偏差或差异，是自闭症谱系障碍（ASD）的一个共同特征。我们开发了反应离散指数（RDI），这是一种基于标准化心理测量评估中项目反应的子测试分散性来衡量这种现象的方法，以评估语言障碍（LI）和/或自闭症谱系障碍个体的任务内变异性。方法 对来自新泽西州语言和自闭症遗传学研究 (NJLAGS) 队列的 502 名个体进行标准语言临床评估。参与者被分为四个诊断组：未受影响组、仅 ASD 组、仅 LI 组和 ASD + LI 组。对于每种语言测量，RDI 被定义为测试项目总数与错过的测试项目权重（基于项目难度）之和的乘积。评估了 RDI 的组间差异，并针对每种语言评估调查了 LI 个体中 RDI 与 ASD 诊断之间的关系。结果 虽然标准分数无法区分仅 LI 组和 ASD/ASD + LI 组，但在表达性、语用性和元语言语言的所有测量中，ASD/ASD + LI 组的 RDI 分数均高于仅 LI 组。 RDI 与所有亚组的 ASD 定量特征呈正相关，并且是 LI 个体中 ASD 诊断的有效预测因子。结论 RDI 是与 ASD 特征相关的发育偏差/差异的有效定量指标，支持之前 ASD 与非顺序技能习得之间的关联。 RDI 可以适应其他临床测量，以调查标准表现总结分数未捕获的差异程度。
Background Qualitatively atypical language development characterized by non-sequential skill acquisition within a developmental domain, which has been called developmental deviance or difference, is a common characteristic of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We developed the Response Dispersion Index (RDI), a measure of this phenomenon based on intra-subtest scatter of item responses on standardized psychometric assessments, to assess the within-task variability among individuals with language impairment (LI) and/or ASD. Methods Standard clinical assessments of language were administered to 502 individuals from the New Jersey Language and Autism Genetics Study (NJLAGS) cohort. Participants were divided into four diagnostic groups: unaffected, ASD-only, LI-only, and ASD + LI. For each language measure, RDI was defined as the product of the total number of test items and the sum of the weight (based on item difficulty) of test items missed. Group differences in RDI were assessed, and the relationship between RDI and ASD diagnosis among individuals with LI was investigated for each language assessment. Results Although standard scores were unable to distinguish the LI-only and ASD/ASD + LI groups, the ASD/ASD + LI groups had higher RDI scores compared to LI-only group across all measures of expressive, pragmatic, and metalinguistic language. RDI was positively correlated with quantitative ASD traits across all subgroups and was an effective predictor of ASD diagnosis among individuals with LI. Conclusions The RDI is an effective quantitative metric of developmental deviance/difference that correlates with ASD traits, supporting previous associations between ASD and non-sequential skill acquisition. The RDI can be adapted to other clinical measures to investigate the degree of difference that is not captured by standard performance summary scores.