The Treatment Validity of Autism Screening Instruments

Treatment validity is a frequently neglected topic of screening instruments used to identify autism spectrum disorders. Treatment validity, however, should represent an important aspect of these instruments to link the resulting data to the selection of interventions as well as make decisions about treatment length and intensity. Research investigating the treatment validity of screening instruments is an important aspect to explore to assist school-based professionals in treatment planning. The current article reviews the treatment validity of current autism screening instruments and attempts to link their content to the outcomes research in autism in an attempt to identify the most critical items that can inform interventions. A case study is provided at the end of the article to illustrate the process and relationship of universal screening assessment to intervention and progress monitoring.