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The Pediatric Autism Spectrum Therapy Observation System: Development, Psychometric Properties, and Sensitivity to Treatment

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Abstract

An observational coding system was developed to track clinical change in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during psychotherapy. The Pediatric Autism Spectrum Therapy Observation System (PASTOS) consists of 23 items divided into 5 subscales and is used to rate child behaviors in individual psychotherapy sessions. Manual-based cognitive behavioral therapy session transcripts of 22 children diagnosed with ASD (IQ > 70) and a concurrent anxiety disorder (M = 9.41 years, SD = 1.56 years) enrolled in a randomized, controlled trial were coded. Results suggested that the PASTOS exhibited promising interrater reliability, internal consistency, convergent validity at post-treatment, and treatment sensitivity. The PASTOS may be a useful tool for studying process and outcome in psychotherapy research on children with ASD.

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Funding

This study was funded by a Treatment-Related Grant from Cure Autism Now (now Autism Speaks). Work on this paper was also supported by National Institute of Mental Health Grant R01-MH094391.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Psychology Department, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, USA

    Bryce D. McLeod

  2. Graduate School of Education and Information Studies, Division of Human Development and Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 405 Hilgard Ave., Los Angeles, CA, 90095, USA

    Marilyn V. Van Dyke, Maria V. Cornejo Guevara, Karen S. Wood & Jeffrey J. Wood

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  1. Marilyn V. Van Dyke
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  2. Maria V. Cornejo Guevara
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  3. Karen S. Wood
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  4. Bryce D. McLeod
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Correspondence to Jeffrey J. Wood.

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Van Dyke, M.V., Guevara, M.V.C., Wood, K.S. et al. The Pediatric Autism Spectrum Therapy Observation System: Development, Psychometric Properties, and Sensitivity to Treatment. Child Psychiatry Hum Dev 52, 1143–1153 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10578-020-01068-4

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