Abstract
Early detection and treatment have been shown to be effective in reducing disability severity caused by Autistic Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). As Spanish pediatricians have no detection tool, the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) was first translated into and culturally adapted to Spanish. Validity and reliability studies were carried out in two different geographical areas of Spain, where M-CHAT was administered to two different samples, namely: 2,480 high- and low-risk children; and 2,055 low-risk children. The results obtained were similar to those yielded by the original M-CHAT studies. Differences were found in positive predictive value, due to the low ASD frequency observed in this study. M-CHAT is still being studied in a large population-based screening program in Spain.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (4th ed., text revision). Washington, DC: American Psychiatric Association.
Baird, G., Charman, T., Baron-Cohen, S., Cox, A., Swettenham, J., Wheelwright, S., et al. (2000). A screening instrument for autism at 18 months of age: A 6-year follow-up study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, 39(6), 694–702.
Baron-Cohen, S., Allen, J., & Gillberg, C. (1992). Can autism be detected at 18 months? The needle, the haystack, and the CHAT. British Journal of Psychiatry, 161, 839–843.
Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Cox, A., Baird, G., Charman, T., Swettenham, J., et al. (2000). Early identification of autism by the checklist for autism in toddlers (CHAT). Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine, 93(10), 521–525.
Beaton, D. E., Bombardier, C., Guillemin, F., & Ferraz, M. B. (2000). Guidelines for the process of cross-cultural adaptation of self-report measures. Spine, 25, 3186–3191.
Canal-Bedia, R. (2001). Referencia Conjunta y Autismo. In A. Riviere & J. Martos (Eds.), Autismo: Comprensión y explicación actual (pp. 57–72). Madrid: APNA_IMSERSO.
Corsello, C. (2005). Early intervention in autism. Infants and Young Children, 18, 74–85.
Dawson, G., Meltzoff, A. N., Osterling, J., & Rinaldi, J. (1998). Neuropsychological correlates of early symptoms of autism. Child Development, 69(5), 1276–1285.
Dawson, G., & Osterling, J. (1997). Early intervention in autism. The effectiveness of early interventions. In M. J. Guralnick (Ed.), The effectiveness of early intervention (pp. 307–326). Baltimore: Brookes.
Díez-Cuervo, A., Muñoz-Yunta, J. A., Fuentes-Biggi, J., Canal-Bedia, R., Idiazábal-Aletxa, M. A., Ferrari-Arroyo, M. J., et al. (2005). Guía de buena práctica para el diagnóstico de los trastornos del espectro autista. Revue Neurologique, 41, 299–310.
Eaves, L. C., Wingert, H. D., Ho, H. H., & Mickelson, E. C. (2006). Screening for autism spectrum disorders with the social communication questionnaire. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 27, S95–S103.
Filipek, P. A., Accardo, P. J., Ashwal, S., Baranek, G. T., Cook, E. H., Jr., Dawson, G., et al. (2000). Practice parameter: Screening and diagnosis of autism: Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society. Neurology, 55, 468–479.
GETEA. (2003). Análisis del Diagnóstico de afectados de Autismo y Planificación del Registro Español de TEA. http://iier.isciii.es/autismo/pdf/aut_if04.pdf.
Gillberg, C. (1990). Infantile autism: Diagnosis and treatment. Acta Psychiatrica Scandinavica, 81, 209–215.
Howlin, P., Mawhood, L., & Rutter, M. (2000). Autism and developmental receptive language disorder—A follow-up comparison in early adult life. II: Social, behavioural, and psychiatric outcomes. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 41(5), 561–578.
Inada, N., Koyama, T., Inokuchi, E., Kuroda, M., & Kamio, Y. (2010). Reliability and validity of the Japanese version of the modified checklist for autism in toddlers (M-CHAT). Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders. doi:10.1016/j.rasd.2010.04.016.
International Test Commission. (2010). Test adaptation guidelines. Retrieved June 20, 2010, from http://www.intestcom.org/.
Johnson, C. P., Myers, S. M., & American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Children With Disabilities. (2007). Identification and evaluation of children with autism spectrum disorders. Pediatrics, 120(5), 1183–1215.
Kasari, C., Freeman, S., & Paparella, T. (2006). Joint attention and symbolic play in young children with autism: A randomized controlled intervention study. The Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 47(6), 611–620.
Kleinman, J. M., Robins, D. L., Ventola, P. E., Pandey, J., Boorstein, H. C., Esser, E. L., et al. (2007). The modified checklist for autism in toddlers: A follow-up study investigating the early detection of autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism of Developmental Disorders, 38, 827–839.
Lord, C., Risi, S., Lambrecht, L., Cook, E. H., Jr., Leventhal, B. L., DiLavore, P. C., et al. (2000). The autism diagnostic observation schedule-generic: A standard measure of social and communication deficits associated with the spectrum of autism. Journal of Autism of Developmental Disorders, 30, 205–223.
Mawle, E., & Griffiths, P. (2006). Screening for autism in pre-school children in primary care: Systematic review of English Language tools. International Journal of Nursing Studies, 43(5), 623–636.
Metz, C. E. (1978). Basic principles of ROC analysis. Seminars in Nuclear Medicine, 8, 283–298.
Pandey, J., Verbalis, A., Robins, D. L., Boorstein, H., Klin, A. M., Babitz, T., et al. (2008). Screening for autism in older and younger toddlers with the modified checklist for autism in toddlers. Autism, 12, 513–535.
Rapin, I. (1995). Physicians’ testing of children with developmental disabilities. Journal of Child Neurology, 10(Suppl), 11–15.
Robins, D. L. (2008). Screening for autism spectrum disorders in primary care settings. Autism,12(5), 537–556.
Robins, D. L., & Dumont-Mathieu, T. M. (2006). Early screening for autism spectrum disorders: Update on the modified checklist for autism in toddlers and other measures. Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics, 27(2 Suppl), S111–S119.
Robins, D. L., Fein, D., Barton, M. L., & Green, J. A. (2001). The modified checklist for autism in toddlers: An initial study investigating the early detection of autism and pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism of Developmental Disorders, 31(2), 131–144.
Roid, G. H., & Sampers, J. (2004). Merrill-Palmer Developmental Scale, Revised manual. Wood Dale, IL: Stoelting.
Rogers, S. J., & Vismara, L. A. (2008). Evidence-based comprehensive treatments for early autism. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37(1), 8–38.
Seif Eldin, A., Habib, D., Noufal, A., Farrag, S., Bazaid, K., Al-Sharbati, M., et al. (2008). Use of M-CHAT for a multinational screening of young children with autism in the Arab countries. International Review of Psychiatry, 20, 281–289.
Sparrow, S., Balla, D., & Cicchetti, D. (1984). Vineland adaptive behavior scales: Interview edition. Circle Pines, MN: American Guidance Services.
Tonge, B., Brereton, A., Kiomall, M., Mackinnon, A., King, N., & Rinehart, N. (2006). Effects on parental mental health of an education and skills training program for parents of young children with autism: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of American Academy of Child and Adolescence Psychiatry, 45(5), 561–569.
Ventola, P., Kleinman, J., Pandey, J., Wilson, L., Esser, E., Boorstein, H., et al. (2007). Differentiating between autism spectrum disorders and other developmental disabilities in children who failed a screening instrument for ASD. Journal of Autism of Developmental Disorders, 37, 425–436.
Wetherby, A. M., Woods, J., Allen, L., Cleary, J., Dickinson, H., & Lord, C. (2004). Early indicators of autism spectrum disorders in the second year of life. Journal of Autism of Developmental Disorders, 34(5), 473–493.
Acknowledgments
This research was supported by grants: SAN/1015/2005 from the Castile-León Regional Health Authority (Consejería de Sanidad de Castilla y León); TPY1289/05 (Carlos III Institute of Health); SEJ2006-11536 from the Spanish Ministry of Science & Innovation (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación); SA043A06 from the Castile-León Regional Educational (Consejería de Educación de la Junta de Castilla y León), Castile-León Regional Autism Association (Federación de Autismo de Castilla-León); EDU/894/2009 Excellence Group of Research (GR197), Junta de Castilla y León (Spain) and Spanish Royal Society for the Handicapped (Real Patronato de Discapacidad de España). We should like to thank all those nurses and pediatricians in the Spanish National Health System who participated in the screening program in Salamanca, Zamora and Madrid Health Area 1. Needless to say, we should also like to express our heartfelt gratitude to all the early-intervention providers, the children, and their families, without whom this study would not have been possible.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Additional information
On behalf of the MCHAT study (in alphabetical order by surname): Belinchón-Carmona M. (Autonomous University of Madrid); Espinosa A. (Gregorio Marañón University Teaching Hospital); Ferrari-Arroyo MJ. (Madrid Municipal Health Prevention Programs); Franco M. (Zamora Regional Hospital); Hernández J. (ASD Team—Regional Educational Authority); Mar Domingo MJ. (Gregorio Marañón University Teaching Hospital); Martínez-Velarte M. Zamora Regional Hospital); Martínez-Conejo A. (University of Salamanca); Muñoz A. (IRIDIA); Palomo R.(IRIDIA); Parra E. (Gregorio Marañón University Teaching Hospital); Velayos L. (IRIDIA).
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Canal-Bedia, R., García-Primo, P., Martín-Cilleros, M.V. et al. Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers: Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Validation in Spain. J Autism Dev Disord 41, 1342–1351 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1163-z
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-010-1163-z