Autism in adolescence – the need for a framework of standardised outcome measures.

• Main Authors: Yeo, Yiyan., Lim, Ming Xuan.
• Other Authors: School of Humanities and Social Sciences
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2013
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Psychology
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/52539
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The purpose of this review is to provide a systematic framework that uses standardised measures and scales to evaluate each category of outcomes for adolescents with autism. The review targets adolescents with autism as they are less studied in autism research, despite the importance of the adolescence period in the transition between childhood and adulthood. In addition, there is limited research on outcomes and outcome measures for the autism population when they reach adolescence. Thus, researchers have been faced with the challenge to compare data and results across outcome studies due to differences in measures used. Through reviewing the literature, suitable measures were identified for each outcome category and compiled into a framework named the Outcome Matrix (OM). The goal of using the OM is to alleviate the problems stated above and to allow inter-study comparisons. The use of a standardised outcome measure that allows comparisons of treatment between studies is essential for researchers who are studying effectiveness of intervention and autism trajectories across the individual’s development. Keywords: autism, adolescence, outcomes, outcome measures