Development and validation of the Autism Communicative Skills Questionnaire (ACSQ): An autism screening measure in Farsi.

Researchers in Iran created a new autism screening tool in Farsi that focuses on communication skills. The questionnaire looks at how children communicate and what might interfere with their communication development. This is important because there are limited autism screening tools available in Farsi for Iranian families. The study represents early work on developing this tool.

This study describes the development and initial validation of the Autism Communicative Skills Questionnaire (ACSQ), a screening tool written in Farsi specifically for identifying autism spectrum disorder in Iranian children. The ACSQ focuses on communication development and behaviors that interfere with communication skills. Researchers conducted statistical analyses including exploratory factor analysis to examine the questionnaire's underlying structure and its ability to distinguish between children with and without ASD. This represents the first phase of developing a comprehensive, culturally sensitive screening instrument that addresses social communication areas unique to autism.

The ACSQ may provide culturally appropriate autism screening for Farsi-speaking populations, potentially improving early identification. However, further validation studies are needed before clinical implementation. This tool could address significant gaps in culturally sensitive autism assessment resources.

This represents only the first stage of questionnaire development. Sample size is not reported, limiting assessment of statistical power. No validation data or psychometric properties are provided in the abstract. Actual screening accuracy and reliability metrics are not presented.

There has been a steady increase in the number of children diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) worldwide. However, screening tools that focus primarily on communicative development that are culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate are needed, particularly in languages, such as Farsi, which is spoken in countries that may benefit from additional resources. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to develop and validate a screening tool, written in Farsi by Iranians, that focuses on communication and factors affecting the development of communication for children with autism. A variety of statistical analyses were conducted and implemented to assess the relevance of various questions related to communication, along with other behaviors that interfere with the development of communication, that may distinguish between children with and without ASD.

Exploratory factor analysis was performed to examine the underlying structure of the Autism Communicative Skills Questionnaire (ACSQ). This study represents the first stage in the development of a comprehensive questionnaire to assist with the screening of areas that impact the development of social communication and are unique to ASD.