Assessment of anxiety in children with autism spectrum disorders in the schools

This study surveyed school psychologists to explore rating scales being used to assess for in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs) in the school setting. Participants were randomly selected from the New York Association of School Psychologists (NYASP) membership directory. For this sample, the most commonly used rating scales were the Behavior Assessment System for Children-2 (BASC-2; Reynolds & Kamphaus, 2000) instruments for assessing anxiety in students with ASD. The BASC-2 instruments were reported to be most useful for screening compared to treatment planning, progress monitoring, and eligibility determination. Usefulness of the BASC-2 for parent and teacher scales were predicted by perceived skill in assessing for anxiety in the general population. Usefulness for parent, teacher, and youth self-report scales were predicted by perceived importance of the rating scales. In general, this sample was not well-trained for core features and assessing for Emotional Behavioral Disorders (EBDs) in the ASD population. This study further emphasizes the importance of additional training and research for assessment of anxiety and other EBDs in the ASD population