International Meeting for Autism Research (London, May 15-17, 2008): Validating a Japanese version of the Ritvo Autism and Asperger's Diagnostic Scale: a pilot study

Saturday, May 17, 2008

Champagne Terrace/Bordeaux (Novotel London West)

11:30 AM

K. Matsumoto , Osaka-Hamamatsu Joint Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan

K. J. Tsuchiya , The Osaka-Hamamatsu Joint Research Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu University School of Medicine, Hamamatsu, Japan

E. R. Ritvo , UCLA School of Medicine, Los Angeles, CA

M. Tsujii , Osaka-hamamatsu Joint Center for Child Mental Development, Hamamatsu, Japan

Background:

Currently it is estimated that approximately two in 1,000 people worldwide have Autism, about six per 1,000 for ASD, such as Asperger’s Disorder (AD) however, this number is increasing (Baird et al., 2006). On the other hand, unfortunately the number of child psychiatrists in Japan is extremely limited and even then, those available may not have enough experiences to make a precise diagnosis. Moreover, assessing medical and long-time developmental history of adults is time-consuming, and the information may not be reliable enough, because the diagnostic process with an interview heavily relies on subjects’ and families’ memories. Screening tests for ASD such as The Autism-Spectrum Quotient Japanese version (AQ-J) and PDD-Autism Society Japan Rating Scales (PARS) are currently being used, but they still need a psychiatrist to make the final diagnosis. These limitations resulted in only a few studies have done on adults with these disorders in Japan; a problem faced with research is how to make a reliable diagnosis without taking time in various clinical settings.

Objectives:

Before now we did not have any paper and pencil diagnostic tools for people with ASD however, Ritvo et al., (2007) developed a new diagnostic scale to distinguish people with and without ASD. This scale, the Ritvo Autism and Asperger’s Diagnostic Scale (RAADS) is an 80 item scale to assist clinicians diagnosing ASD in adults. RAADS is based on ICD-10 and DSM-IV therefore, making it a reliable scale to determine specifically people with Autism and Asperger’s Disorder according to the total scores. We translated the original RAADS into Japanese to test the validity of this scale.

Methods:

This pilot study included 33 normal adults as well as those with ASD (data is still obtaining). Statistical analyses of sensitivity and specificity will be presented.

Results:

available at the conference.

Conclusions:

available at the conference.

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