Objectives: A behavior checklist, the Pervasive Developmental Disorder(PDD) ASJ Rating Scale(PARS), was developed as a screening questionnaire to determine Pervasive Developmental Disorder(PDD) and also as a rating scale to evaluate the severity of a wide range of PDD symptoms. PARS was constructed by two rating, 37 toddlerhood items are evaluated retrospectively and 36 or 37 items are used for current evaluation.
Methods: 317 PDD participants and 345 non-PDD participants were assessed using PARS, and 74 PDD participants were assessed using PARS and ADI-R for these purposes. The subjects were recruited via the medical, psychological or educational institution. The study was described to the subjects and written informed consent was obtained. Diagnoses of either Autistic Disorder were made by a child psychiatrist and based on DSM-IV criteria.
Results: In this study, the reliability and validity of the PARS was tested on PDD and non-PDD samples. Interrater and internal reliability was found to be adequate. Both the toddlerhood evaluation items and the current evaluation items accurately discriminated PDD from non-PDD. The correlation between PARS and ADI-R demonstrated validity.
Conclusions: Result suggested that the PARS may be a useful screening scale for a various clinical settings.