Abstract

• This study was conducted to examine the psychometric properties of the autism spectrum screening questionnaire (ASSQ) to the adaptation of Myanmar version. It is an informant-based rating scale with 27 items developed by Ehlers&Gillberg (1993), identical for parents and teachers, requiring the respondent to indicate if “the target child stands out as different from other children of his/her age”, for each item. It can be completed in 10 min and was designed with a 3- point scale as follows: “no” (score 0 indicating normal), “somewhat” (score 1indicating some abnormality), or “yes” (score 2 indicating definite abnormality). The aim of this study was to adapt and validate the ASSQ into Myanmar version and to evaluate its psychometric properties. The descriptive research design and quantitative survey method were taken in this study. The participants included in this study were parents and teachers of typical and atypical children. The target areas of the study were special schools and the community population from Yangon and Mandalay Region. The respondents were parents, teachers and caregivers of target children. This study collected the data about total 72 children and adolescents (both ASD group and Non-ASD group). The research instruments: the autism spectrum screening questionnaire (ASSQ) of 27 items and social responsiveness scale (SRS) of 65 items were adapted and utilized in this study. Then, the data were analyzed by using descriptive statistics, reliability and validity analysis, independent sample t test, and Pearson Product Moment Correlation. According to the data analysis results, the ASSQ has sufficient reliability and validity to be able to use in measuring the autistic symptoms of children and adolescents.