Validity and reliability of the Korean Version of Autism Spectrum Disorders-Diagnostic for Children (ASD-DC)

• The Korean version of the Autism Spectrum Disorders-Diagnostic for Children was standardized.
• The K-ASD-DC is a psychometrically sound instrument.
• The fit indices from the confirmatory factor analysis fell within the acceptable range.
• The reliability and validity tests fell within the acceptable range.
• The cut-off points for the autism spectrum disorders were calculated.

The purpose of the present study was to develop and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Autism Spectrum Disorders-Child (ASD-DC). Mothers of children with Autism spectrum disorders (N = 333) and mothers of typically developing children (N = 223) ages from 2 to 16 years completed the ASD-DC. The confirmatory factor analysis revealed that the 4-factor structure of the ASD-DC fits the data well, comprising the following factors: nonverbal communication/socialization, verbal communication, social relationships, and insistence of sameness/restricted interests. The ASD-DC was associated with high internal consistency and test–retest reliability. The discriminant validity was demonstrated by the mean differences between ASD and control group. High correlations between several subscales of ASD-DC and Social Communication Questionnaire (SCQ) were found, showing concurrent validity. High correlations between several subscales were found. Optimal cutoff scores for Autism, Asperger's disorder, and PDD-NOS were found via ROC curve analysis. Clinical and research implications as well as limitations are discussed.