Measuring Changes in Social Communication Behaviors: Preliminary Development of the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change (BOSCC)

J Autism Dev Disord. 2016 Jul;46(7):2464-79. doi: 10.1007/s10803-016-2782-9.

Abstract

Psychometric properties and initial validity of the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change (BOSCC), a measure of treatment-response for social-communication behaviors, are described. The BOSCC coding scheme is applied to 177 video observations of 56 young children with ASD and minimal language abilities. The BOSCC has high to excellent inter-rater and test-retest reliability and shows convergent validity with measures of language and communication skills. The BOSCC Core total demonstrates statistically significant amounts of change over time compared to a no change alternative while the ADOS CSS over the same period of time did not. This work is a first step in the development of a novel outcome measure for social-communication behaviors with applications to clinical trials and longitudinal studies.

Keywords: Autism; Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS); Autism spectrum disorder (ASD); Brief Observation of Social Communication Change (BOSCC); Preschoolers; Restricted and Repetitive Behaviors and Interests (RRB); Social communication; Toddlers.

MeSH terms

  • Aptitude
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder / diagnosis*
  • Autism Spectrum Disorder / psychology*
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Communication*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Infant
  • Longitudinal Studies
  • Male
  • Outcome Assessment, Health Care
  • Psychometrics
  • Reproducibility of Results
  • Social Behavior*
  • Social Communication Disorder / diagnosis*
  • Social Communication Disorder / psychology*
  • Video Recording / standards