concurrent and discriminant validity of the farsi translation of the social responsiveness scale-second edition (srs-2) and social communication questionnaire (scq)

Objective: early detection of autism spectrum disorder (asd) can lead to earlier intervention and greater improvement of children’s quality of life and performance; hence, the use of screening tools is essential to facilitate the diagnosis process. the aim of the present study was to determine the clinical and differential validity of social responsiveness scale-second edition (srs-2) and social communication questionnaire (scq)in a group of children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorder compared to a normal developmental group.method: the study was conducted in roozbeh hospital involving 52 children with asd and 53 typically developing (td) children, aged between 4-12 years. their parents completed the srs-2 and scq. these children were also interviewed using the childhood autism rating scale, 2nd edition (cars-2) and asperger syndrome diagnostic scale (asds). after completion, the results were analyzed using the spss version 18 software and a significant level of 0.05.results: the average age of children in the autism group was 7.5 ± 2.7 years, while in the typically developing (td) children group, it was 7.7 ± 2.3 years (p = 0.656). a positive correlation coefficient was observed between the cars questionnaire score, the srs questionnaire score, the scq questionnaire score, and the asds ‏(p < 0.01). in the srs questionnaire, the area under the roc curve was 0.976, and in the scq questionnaire it was 0.953, both of which had a good and significant diagnostic value (p < 0.001). a sensitivity of 0.942 and specificity of 0.811 for the cut-off point of 62.5 were obtained in the srs questionnaire. additionally, a sensitivity of 0.865 and specificity of 0.925 for the cut-off point of 15.5 were achieved in the scq questionnaire.conclusion: the srs-2 and the scq are sensitive and specific tools for identifying and discriminating children with autism spectrum disorder.