Use of the Children's Communication Checklist-2 in School-Aged Students with Autism: A Psychometric Analysis

J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Sep;52(9):4089-4099. doi: 10.1007/s10803-021-05284-2. Epub 2021 Sep 22.

Abstract

Measurement of social-pragmatic communication skills is essential for clinicians and researchers working with school-aged children on the autism spectrum. Many measures of these skills require time-intensive training and coding that is impractical for clinical assessment settings. Using a sample of 299 elementary school children (M = 8.6 years, sd = 1.7) with autism whose teachers completed the Children's Communication Checklist-2, we evaluated the psychometric properties of the CCC-2, a commonly used measure of social-pragmatic skills in order to assist researchers and clinicians in identifying the utility of this measure related to their assessment needs. Our results indicate strong psychometric properties for the CCC-2 with this population and a 3-factor model fit: Structural Language, Pragmatic Communication, and Pragmatic Social. Evidence of racial/ethnic bias was found for the structural language factor. Clinical recommendations are provided for using the CCC-2 with students with autism as reported by teachers.

Keywords: ASD; Autism; Pragmatic language; Psychometric; Social-communication.

MeSH terms

  • Autism Spectrum Disorder* / diagnosis
  • Autistic Disorder* / diagnosis
  • Checklist
  • Child
  • Communication
  • Humans
  • Psychometrics
  • Students