Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-ndw9j Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-04T21:32:19.973Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

An initial examination of the psychometric properties of the Diagnostic Instrument for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO-11) in a clinical sample of children with a diagnosis of Autism spectrum disorder

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  26 October 2020

Margo Anglim ,
Emma Victoria Conway ,
Myra Barry ,
Muhammad Kashif ,
Pauline Ackermann ,
Aoife Moran ,
Anne Sophie O’Connell  and
Suzanne Guerin Open the ORCID record for Suzanne Guerin [Opens in a new window]
Margo Anglim*
Affiliation:
St. Frances Clinic, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
Emma Victoria Conway
Affiliation:
St. Frances Clinic, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
Myra Barry
Affiliation:
St. Frances Clinic, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
Muhammad Kashif
Affiliation:
St. Frances Clinic, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
Pauline Ackermann
Affiliation:
St. Frances Clinic, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
Aoife Moran
Affiliation:
St. Frances Clinic, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
Anne Sophie O’Connell
Affiliation:
St. Frances Clinic, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, Dublin, Ireland
Suzanne Guerin
Affiliation:
School of Psychology, University College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
*
*Address for correspondence: Dr Margo Anglim, St Francis Clinic, Temple Street Children’s University Hospital, Dublin 1, Ireland. (Email: [email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Introduction:

The diagnostic interview for social and communication disorders (DISCO – 11; Wing 2006), is a semi-structured, interview-based instrument used in the diagnosis of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This paper explores the psychometric properties of the DISCO-11 used in a specialist Paediatric clinical setting. Two key research questions were examined; (1) Does the factor structure of the DISCO-11 reflect the diagnostic and statistical manual 5th edition (DSM-5, American Psychiatric Association [APA], 2013) dyad of impairment in ASD? (2) Is there evidence of diagnostic stability over time using the DISCO?

Methods:

Review assessments of 65 children with ASD were carried out using standardised measures including the DISCO-11 and the autism diagnostic observation schedule.

Results:

The results revealed two factors resembling the DSM-5 algorithms, as used in DISCO-11, which were named as social-communication, and restricted and repetitive behaviours. The reliability, for the overall DISCO score was good (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.78). The social communication and social interaction subscale showed good reliability (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.77) as did the restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests or activities subscale (Cronbach’s Alpha = 0.74). Acceptable internal reliability was found for the overall DISCO score and the subscales of social communication and social interaction and the restricted and repetitive patterns of behaviour, interests or activities. Test–retest showed good stability of diagnosis over time.

Discussion:

This study supports that the DISCO-11 shows potential as a valid and reliable instrument that can be used both for clinical and research purposes.

Keywords

Autism spectrum disordersDSM-5DISCO-11psychometrics
Type
Original Research
Information
Irish Journal of Psychological Medicine , Volume 39 , Issue 3: Themed Issue: Autism Spectrum Disorders , September 2022 , pp. 251 - 260
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2020. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The College of Psychiatrists of Ireland

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

American Psychiatric Association (1992). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th edn. American Psychiatric Association: Washington, DC.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (1994). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 4th edn. Revised. American Psychiatric Association: Washington, DC.Google Scholar
American Psychiatric Association (2013). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, 5th edn. American Psychiatric Association: Washington, DC.Google Scholar
Carrington, SJ, Kent, RG, Maljaars, J, LeCouteur, A, Gould, J, Wing, L, Noens, I, Van Berckelaer-Onnes, I, Leekam, SR (2014). DSM-5 Autism spectrum disorder: in search of essential behaviours for diagnosis. Research in Autism Spectrum Disorders 8, 701–715.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Constantino, JN, Gruber, CP (2005). The Social Responsiveness Scale. Western Psychological Services: Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Constantino, JN, Davis, SA, Todd, RD, Schindler, MK, Gross, MM, Brophy, SL, Metzger, LM, Shoushtari, CS, Splinter, R, Reich, W (2003). Validation of a brief quantitative measure of Autistic traits: comparison of the social responsiveness scale with the Autism diagnostic interview-revised. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 33, 427–433.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Constantino, JN, Gruber, CP, Davis, SA, Hayes, S, Passanante, N, Przybeck, T (2004). The factor structure of autistic traits. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 45, 719–726.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cox, A, Rutter, M (1985). Diagnostic appraisal and interviewing. In Child and Adolescent Psychiatry: Modern Approaches, pp. 233–248, 2nd edn. (eds. Rutter, M., Hersov, L.). Wiley-Blackwell: Oxford.Google Scholar
De Bildt, A, Sytema, S, Ketelaars, C, Kraijer, E, Volkmar, E, Minderaa, R (2004). Interrelationship between Autism diagnostic observation schedule-generic (ADOS-G), Autism diagnostic interview-revised (ADI-R), and the Diagnostic and statistical manual of mental disorders (DSM-IV-TR) classification in children and adolescents with mental retardation. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 34, 129–137.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frazier, TW, Youngstrom, EA, Speer, L, Embacher, BS, Law, P, Constantino, J, Findling, RL, Hardan, AY, Eng, C (2012). Validation of proposedDSM-5 criteria for Autism spectrum disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 51, 28–40.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gillberg, C (1991). Clinical and neurobiological aspects of Asperger syndrome in six family studies. In Autism and Asperger Syndrome, pp. 122–146 (ed. Frith, U.). Cambridge University Press: Cambridge.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillberg, IC, Gillberg, C (1989). Asperger syndrome: some epidemiological considerations: a research note. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines 30, 631–638.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gotham, K, Pickles, A, Lord, C (2009). Standardizing ADOS scores for a measure of severity in autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 39, 693–705.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Huerta, M, Bishop, S, Duncan, A, Hus, V, Lord, C (2012). Application of DSM-5 criteria for autism spectrum disorder to three samples of children with DSM-IV diagnoses of pervasive developmental disorders. American Journal of Psychiatry 169, 1056–1064.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kamp-Becker, I, Ghahreman, M, Smidt, J, Remschmidt, H (2009). Dimensional structure of the Autism phenotype: relations between early development and current presentation. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 39, 557–571.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kanner, L (1943). Autistic disturbances of affective contact. Nervous Child 2, 217–250.Google Scholar
Kanner, L, Eisenberg, L (1956). Early infantile autism, 1943–1955. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry 26, 55–65.Google Scholar
Kent, RG, Carrington, SJ, Le Couteur, A, Gould, J, Wing, L, Maljaars, J, Noens, I, van Berckelaer-Onnes, I, Leekam, SR (2013). Diagnosing autism spectrum disorder: who will get a DSM-5 diagnosis? Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry 54, 1242–1250.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Kulage, KM, Smaddone, AM, Cohn, EG (2014). How will DSM-5 affect austim diagnosis? A systematic liteerature review and meta-analysis. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 50, 2102–2127.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lecavalier, L, Aman, M, Scahill, L, McDougle, C, McCracken, J, Vitiello, B, Tierney, E, Arnold, L, Ghuman, J, Loftin, R, Cronin, P, Koenig, K, Posey, D, Martin, A, Hollway, J, Lee, L, Kau, A (2006). Validity of the Autism diagnostic interview-revised. American Journal on Mental Retardation 111, 199–215.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Le Couteur, A, Rutter, M, Lord, C, Rios, P, Robertson, S, Holdgrafer, M, McLennan, J (1989). Autism diagnostic interview: a standardized investigator-based instrument. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorder 19, 363–387.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leekam, S, Carmon, N, Libby, S, Wing, L, Gould, J (2007). Describing the sensory abnormalities of children and adults with autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 37, 894–910.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Leekam, S, Libby, S, Wing, L, Gould, J, Gillberg, C (2000). Comparison of ICD-10 and Gillberg’s criteria for Asperger syndrome. Autism 4, 11–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Leekam, S, Libby, S, Wing, L, Gould, J, Taylor, C (2002). The diagnostic interview for social and communication disorders: algorithms for ICD-10 childhood autism and Wing and Gould autistic spectrum disorder. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 43, 327–342.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lord, C, Jones, RM (2012). Re-thinking the classification of autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, and Allied Disciplines 53, 490–509.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Lord, C, Risi, S, Lambrecht, L, Cook, EH, Leventhal, B, DiLavore, PC, Pickles, A, Rutter, M (2000). The ADOS-G (Autism Diagnostic Oberservation Schedule-Generic): a standard measure of social communication deficits associated with autism spectrum disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 30, 205–223.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lord, C, Risi, S, Lambrecht, L, Cook, EH, Leventhal, B, DiLavore, P, Shulman, C, Thuram, A, Pickles, A (2006). Autism from two to nine. Archives of General Psychiatry 63, 694–701.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lord, C, Rutter, M, Le Couteur, A (1994). Autism diagnostic interview-revised: a revised version of a diagnostic interview for caregivers of individuals with possible pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 24, 659–686.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Maljaars, J, Noens, I, Scholte, E, van Berckelaer-Onnes, I (2011). Evaluation of the criterion and convergent validity of the diagnostic interview for social and communication disorders in young and low-functioning children. Autism 16, 487–497.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Matson, JL, Belva, BC, Horovitz, M, Kozlowski, AM, Bamburg, JW (2012). Comparing symptoms of autism spectrum disorders in a developmentally disabled adult population using the current DSM-IV-TR diagnostic criteria and the proposed DSM-5 diagnostic criteria. Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities 24, 403–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McPartland, J, Reichow, B, Volkmar, F (2012). Sensitivity and specificity of proposed DSM-5 diagnostic criteria for autism spectrum disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 51, 368–383.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Nygren, G, Hagberg, B, Billstedt, E, Skoglund, A, Gillberg, C, Johansson, M (2009). The Swedish version of the diagnostic Interview for social and communication disorders (DISCO-10): psychometric properties. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 39, 730–741. CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Osterling, JA, Dawson, G, Munson, JA (2002). Early recognition of 1-year-old infants with autism spectrum disorder versus mental retardation. Development and Psychopathology 14, 239–252.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Robertson, JM, Tanguay, PE, L’Ecuyer, L, Sims, A, Waltrip, C, (1999). Domains of social communication handicap in autism spectrum disorder. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 38, 738–745.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Rutter, M, Bailey, A, Lord, C (2003). Social Communication Questionnaire. Western Psychological Services: Los Angeles.Google Scholar
Rutter, M (2011). Research review: child psychiatric diagnosis and classification: concepts, findings, challenges and potential. Journal of Child Psychology & Psychiatry 52, 647–660.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Saemundsen, E, Magnússon, P, Smári, J, Sigurdardóttir, S (2003). Autism diagnostic interview-revised and the childhood Autism rating scale: convergence and discrepancy in diagnosing autism. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 33, 319–328.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Schopler, E, Reichler, RJ, DeVellis, RF, Daly, K (1980). Toward objective classification of childhood autism: childhood Autism Rating Scale (CARS). Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 10, 91–103. CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Skuse, D, Warrington, R, Bishop, D, Chowdhury, U, Lau, J, Mandy, W, Place, M (2004). The developmental, dimensional and diagnostic interview (3di): a novel computerized assessment for autism spectrum disorders. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry 43, 548–558.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Sung, M, Goh, T, Tan, B, Chan, J, Liew, H (2018). Comparison of DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 criteria in diagnosing Autism spectrum disorders in Singapore. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 48, 3273–3281.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Szatmari, P, Mérette, C, Bryson, SE, Thivierge, J, Roy, MA, Cayer, M, Maziade, M (2002). Quantifying dimensions in autism: a factor-analytic study. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 41, 467–474.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tadevosyan-Leyfer, O, Dowd, M, Mankoski, R, Winklosky, B, Putman, S, McGrath, L, Tager-Flusberg, H, Folstein, SE (2003). A principal component analysis of the Autism diagnostic interview-revised. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 42, 864–872.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Taheri, A, Perry, A (2012). Exploring the proposed DSM-5 criteria in a clinical sample. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 42, 1810–1817.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tanguay, PE, Robertson, J, Derrick, A (1998). A dimensional classification of autism spectrum disorder by social communication domains. Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 37, 271–277.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Tanguay, PE (2011). Autism in the DSM-5. American Journal of Psychiatry 168, 1142–1144.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Van Lang, ND, Boomsma, A, Sytema, S, deBildt, AA, Kraijer, DW, Ketelaars, C, Minderaa, RB (2006). Structural equation analysis of a hypothesized symptom in the autism spectrum. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 47, 37–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ventola, PE, Kleinman, J, Pandey, J, Barton, M, Allen, S, Green, J, Robins, D, Fein, D (2006). Agreement among four diagnostic instruments for autism spectrum disorders in toddlers. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 36, 839–847.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wing, L (1988). The continuum of autistic characteristics. In Diagnosis and Assessment in Autism, pp. 91–110. (eds. Schopler, E., Mesibov, G.). Plenum: New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wing, L (2006). Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders, 11th edn. Centre for Social and Communication Disorders: Bromley, UK.Google Scholar
Wing, L, Gould, J (1979). Severe impairments of social interaction and associated abnormalities in children: epidemiology and classification. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders 9, 11–29.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Wing, L, Leekam, SR, Libby, SJ, Gould, J, Larcombe, M (2002). The diagnostic interview for social and communication disorders: background, inter-rater reliability and clinical use. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 43, 307–325.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
World Health Organisation (1967). International Classification of Diseases and Health Related Problems Eighth Revision. World Health Organisation: Geneva.Google Scholar
World Health Organisation (1992). International Classification of Diseases and Health Related Problems Tenth Revision. World Health Organisation: Geneva.Google Scholar
World Health Organisation (2012). International Classification of Diseases and Health Related Problems Tenth Revision. World Health Organisation: Geneva.Google Scholar