Parent and teacher ratings of adaptive and challenging behaviours in young children with autism spectrum disorders

Although it might be expected that parents and teachers would establish similar assessments of a child’s behaviour, this is often not the case. This study’s aim was to examine the correspondence of parent and teacher ratings of adaptive and challenging behaviours for children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) enrolled in an early intervention program. Ratings were compared for the Behavior Assessment System for Children, second edition (BASC-2; n = 22), and Vineland Adaptive Behavior Scales, second edition (VABS-II; n = 28), which are common assessment tools for measuring progress over time that thus require accuracy. Results showed that adaptive behaviour ratings generally demonstrated high parent-teacher correlations, but challenging behaviour ratings demonstrated relatively low correlations. Only adaptive skills on the BASC-2 showed significant mean parent-teacher differences, with parent ratings suggesting greater impairment. Although statistical power limits the conclusions, results suggest that adaptive behaviours are elicited across situations and interpreted by parents and teachers relatively consistently. In contrast, challenging behaviours, particularly attention problems and hyperactivity, may be more situation-driven or susceptible to different interpretations. This suggests that clinicians should consider gaining both parent and teacher perspectives on a child with ASD’s challenging behaviour, but that a single informant measure of adaptive behaviour, either parent or teacher, may be sufficient