Author(s)

Diego F. M. Mugno, Manuela Strano, Mara Collini, Andrea Gemma, Lavinia De Peppo, Laura Reale, Veronica Micalizio, Luigi Mazzone

Manuela, Maserada sul Piave, Treviso, Italy.
Neuropsichiatria Infantile, Dipartimento di Neuroscienze, Ospedale Pediatrico Bambino Gesù, Rome, Italy.
Neuropsichiatria Infantile, ULSS 8, Veneto Region, Italy.
Neuropsichiatria Infantile, University of Catania, Catania, Italy.
Stepping Stones Center, Dubai, UAE.

Objective: The aim of this study is to validate the Italian version of the Developmental Disability-Child Global Assessment Scale (DD-CGAS), a scale developed to assess global functioning in children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASDs). Methods: Following the validation procedures used for the English version of the scale, inter-rater reliability, temporal stability and convergent validity were assessed in a group of 48 children with ASD and temporal stability in a subset of 42 subjects. Results: Inter-rater reliability and temporal stability (ICC) were respectively 0.78 and 0.79; effect size for convergent validity were moderate to large; the pre-post DD-CGAS change had an effect size of 0.59. Conclusions: The Italian version of the DD-CGAS is a reliable instrument for measuring global functioning of children with ASD.

Assessment, Autism, Children, Functioning, Pervasive Developmental Disorder, Italian

Mugno, D. , Strano, M. , Collini, M. , Gemma, A. , Peppo, L. , Reale, L. , Micalizio, V. and Mazzone, L. (2014) Validation of the Italian Version of the Developmental Disability-Child Global Assessment Scale (DD-CGAS). Open Journal of Psychiatry, 4, 218-227. doi: 10.4236/ojpsych.2014.43028.