Racial-Ethnic Comparisons of ADOS-2 Algorithms for Young Verbal Children.

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

4-2026

Identifier

DOI: 10.1002/aur.70203

Abstract

The current study reports comparative analyses of the ADOS-2 Module 1 (Some Words) (n = 918) and Module 2 (Phrase Speech) (n = 881) algorithmic items between Black, Hispanic, and White children aged 3-5 on data from the Study to Explore Early Development (SEED). Significant Differential Item Functioning (DIF) was identified on ADOS-2 Social Affect and Restrictive Repetitive Behavior (RRB) items from both modules, but differential test functioning (DTF) was close to zero for each subscale (range = -0.07 to 0.08). No discernible patterns were identified when comparing these results with other published studies conducted with older populations. Item level scoring differences may reflect unique study sample variance, and existing data suggests DIF is unlikely to impact scale level ADOS-2 interpretations for clinicians assessing preschool age children from different racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Journal Title

Autism Res

Volume

19

Issue

4

First Page

70203

Last Page

70203

MeSH Keywords

Humans; Child, Preschool; Male; Female; Algorithms; Hispanic or Latino; White People; Black or African American; Ethnicity; Reproducibility of Results

PubMed ID

41808370

Keywords

autism assessment; differential item functioning; early identification; item response theory measurement

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