Cultural Adaptation and Validation of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised with Follow-up in Moroccan Arabic dialect.

Researchers successfully translated the M-CHAT-R/F autism screening questionnaire into Moroccan Arabic. They tested it with 56 autistic children and 96 typically developing children. The translated version worked very well at identifying children who might have autism, with autistic children scoring much higher (13.12) than typical children (2.24). This means Moroccan families now have a reliable screening tool in their own language to help identify autism early.

This study successfully translated and validated the M-CHAT-R/F autism screening tool into Moroccan Arabic dialect. Researchers tested the adapted version with 56 autistic toddlers and 96 typically developing toddlers. The Moroccan Arabic M-CHAT-R/F demonstrated excellent psychometric properties with high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.929), strong inter-rater reliability (kappa = 0.78-0.97), and excellent discrimination ability (AUC = 0.988). Average scores clearly differentiated between groups: 13.12 for autistic toddlers versus 2.24 for typically developing children.

The validation process included forward and backward translation by specialized translators and clinicians, ensuring cultural appropriateness for Moroccan populations.

The validated Moroccan Arabic M-CHAT-R/F enables culturally appropriate autism screening in Morocco and similar Arabic-speaking regions. This addresses a significant gap in early identification tools for non-English speaking populations and may improve access to timely intervention services for autistic children in these communities.

Study limitations include relatively small sample size (152 total participants), lack of longitudinal follow-up data, and testing limited to Moroccan dialect which may not generalize to other Arabic-speaking populations. The abstract does not specify recruitment methods or participant demographics beyond developmental status.

The prevalence of autism spectrum disorder is increasing worldwide, making screening and early intervention necessary. Several screening instruments have been developed in recent years. The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers Revised with Follow-up (M-CHAT-R/F) is considered to be one of the specific measures designed to identify toddlers at risk for autistic spectrum disorder. The aim of the study was to translate and adapt the original version of M-CHAT-R/F from the English to the Moroccan Arabic language.

Specialized translators and clinicians ensured forward and backward translation of the scale into Moroccan Arabic. Then, a two-stage screening of the M-CHAT-R/F-T was applied to a study sample comprised of 56 toddlers with autistic spectrum disorder (category I) and 96 toddlers with normal development (category II). "Kappa test", "Cronbach's alpha" test, the intra class correlation coefficient, and the area under the curve were determined. The average score results of M-CHAT-R/F were 13.12 for category I, while it was 2.24 for category II. The Cronbach's alpha coefficient of the checklist was 0.929.

The kappa values ranged from k=0.78 to k=0.97 with a confidence interval of 95% indicating good convergence. The intra-class correlation coefficient ranged from 0.97 to 0.99, which is excellent. The area under the curve in our study was 0.988, an excellent result. Efficiency of the Moroccan Arabic version of the MCHAT was demonstrated for screening in the general population.