Development of a screening scale for high-functioning pervasive developmental disorders using the Tokyo Child Development Schedule and Tokyo Autistic Behavior Scale

This study aimed to compile a screening scale for high-functioning pervasive developmental disorders (PDD), using the Tokyo Child Development Schedule (TCDS) and Tokyo Autistic Behavior Scale (TABS). The 72 participants (IQ ≥ 70) were divided into 3 groups after IQ matching depending on their diagnoses: i.e., PDD, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (AD/HD), or other than PDD or AD/HD. Among the items of TCDS and TABS, correlation with PDD diagnosis was confirmed in 3 items. A screening scale consisting of these 3 items (TCDS/TABS-3) had a sensitivity of 0.75 and a specificity of 0.84 at 2 cutoff points. We consider that the TCDS/TABS-3 encompasses and adequately reflects the autism diagnostic criteria and would be a useful auxiliary scale for PDD diagnosis.