Creator

Feng-Chen Lin

Advisor

Ferrell, Kay Alicyn, 1948-

Advisor

Banerjee, Rashida

Committee Member

Mueller, Tracy G.

Committee Member

Peterson, Eric

Department

Special Education

Institution

University of Northern Colorado

Type of Resources

Text

Place of Publication

Greeley (Colo.)

Publisher

University of Northern Colorado

Date Created

5-1-2015

Genre

Thesis

Extent

159 pages

Digital Origin

Born digital

Description

Early identification and intervention have been shown to be effective in reducing disability severity caused by autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). In Taiwan, the lack of a culturally appropriate and validated autism screening tool for Taiwanese children has significantly impeded the effectiveness of identifying children who might benefit from early intervention services. The present study employed a cross-sectional survey to investigate the culturally appropriateness, reliability and validity of the translated Chinese Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) for young children in Taiwan. The M-CHAT is a parent-report, free, and widely used autism screening instrument in the United States. A total of 138 participants including 100 parents of typically developing children, 20 parents of children with autism, and 18 professionals completed the questionnaires designed based on the 23 items of the translated Chinese M-CHAT. The analyses showed significant and positive findings in both quantitative analysis and qualitative evaluation of rationales and comments. As a result, the Chinese M-CHAT was a culturally appropriate autism screening instrument for young children in Taiwan and demonstrated satisfactory test-retest reliability, internal consistency, criterion validity, and content validity. However, some issues raised by parents and professionals regarding additional examples for some test items and modification for the meaning of words in specific items may be necessary to overcome cultural differences for parents in Taiwan. Future researches should include a broader range of participants from more diverse areas of Taiwan to provide more sound and impartial information about Taiwanese perceptions of the translated Chinese M-CHAT. In addition, a more precise diagnosis by validated diagnostic tool and careful interpretation of the test result by well-trained professionals can avoid research bias. Overall, this study contributes to the issues related to cross-cultural assessment and has important ethical and practical implications for early identification and early intervention of children with ASD in Taiwan.

Degree type

PhD

Degree Name

Doctoral

Place

Taiwan

Language

English

Local Identifiers

Lin_unco_0161D_10398

Rights Statement

Copyright is held by author.

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