Developing a short form of the Psychoeducational Profile-Third Edition for children with autism spectrum disorder

• The 73-item SF-PEP3 requires less administration time and is practical in clinical use.
• The 73-item SF-PEP3 has been shown to be psychometrically similar to the original CPEP-3.
• The original 172-item CPEP-3 can be used in the initial evaluation or treatment adjustment for children with ASD.
• The subtests or composites scores of the 73-item SF-PEP3 can be used to monitor the progress of children with ASD.

The Psychoeducational Profile-Third Edition (PEP-3), a standardized and norm-referenced scale, is designed to assess the development of communication and motor skills and the presence of maladaptive behaviors in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of this study was to develop a short form of the PEP-3, the SF-PEP3, which would reduce the administration time while maintaining the psychometric properties similar to the original version. The study consisted of two parts: development and cross-validation of the SF-PEP3. In the first part, 116 children with ASD were recruited and assessed with the Chinese Psychoeducational Profile-Third Edition (CPEP-3). After 6 months, 63 of them were assessed again. We developed the SF-PEP3 by selecting the items with the highest internal consistency and the greatest responsiveness. The easiest and the most difficult items were added because of the notable ceiling and floor effects. The psychometric properties of the 4 versions of the SF-PEP3 were compared with the original CPEP-3. The score distribution, the reliability, and the concurrent validity of the 73-item SF-PEP3 were better than those of the 57-item and 66-item SF-PEP3s. The responsiveness of the 73-item SF-PEP3 was better than those of the 79-item SF-PEP3 and the original CPEP-3. Thus, the 73-item SF-PEP3 was determined to be the best. In the second part, 101 children with ASD were recruited, and 35 of them were followed up after 1 year. The psychometric properties of the 73-item SF-PEP3 were cross-validated and found to be similar to those of the original CPEP-3. In conclusion, the 73-item SF-PEP3 has been developed and shown to be psychometrically similar to the original CPEP-3. It is recommended that the 172-item CPEP-3 be used in the initial evaluation and that the subtests or composites scores of the 73-item SF-PEP3 be used as the outcome indicators for children with ASD.