Evidence map of Spanish language parent- and self-report screening and diagnostic tools for autism spectrum disorder

Abstract

Background With increasing interests in identification and diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) across the world, a number of screening and diagnostic tools have been developed and translated from one language to another in varying qualities. In particular, many tools have been made available in Spanish to meet the needs of the world’s large Spanish-speaking populations. Critical examination of such Spanish language tools, in the areas of development and translation as well as empirical testing, is necessary to determine the quality of these tools, including their validity and reliability in the target population. The aim of the present review is to provide a comprehensive evidence map of screening and diagnostic tools for ASD in Spanish, especially with regards to the aspects of development/translation and empirical testing.

Method A total of 48 Spanish versions of 21 instruments met study criteria for analysis after conducting multiple searches through nine key databases, grey literature, and by contacting authors, translators, and publishers.

Results Results showed that a significant number of translations lacked translational process details in published locations and a majority of the studies used a traditional forward-backward approach rather than cultural adaptation procedures. About half of the translations did not provide necessary empirical evidence to support clinical utility of their translated tool.

Conclusions Future studies are recommended to take more rigorous, culturally adaptive translational approach and test instruments in local populations to ensure their psychometric validities.