Clinical validation of the DISCO Abbreviated - Version 1
Research type
Research Study
Full title
A clinical validation study of the abbreviated form of the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO Abbreviated)
IRAS ID
210271
Contact name
Sarah Carrington
Contact email
Sponsor organisation
Aston University
Duration of Study in the UK
3 years, 0 months, 1 days
Research summary
Summary of Research
Guidelines for gold-standard diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) recommend the use of standardised developmental history interviews. These interviews can take up to three hours to administer, and due to limited time and resources, it is not always possible for clinicians to use them. Investigation of whether standardised diagnosis is possible within a reduced time-frame is, therefore, essential.The primary objective of the proposed study is to test an abbreviated form of the Diagnostic Interview for Social and Communication Disorders (DISCO). The DISCO is a well-established tool that includes several algorithms to help guide diagnosis. Recent research by the team has demonstrated that in well-defined research samples, an abbreviated form of the interview (DISCO Abbreviated) and algorithms have comparable diagnostic performance to the full interview. The current study will examine how well the DISCO Abbreviated agrees with best estimate clinical diagnosis in standard clinical diagnostic pathways.
The families of children (3-18 years) referred for an ASD assessment at Midlands Psychology NHS provider will be invited to participate. Participating parents will be interviewed using the DISCO Abbreviated in addition to the clinic’s standard diagnostic protocol. They will also be asked to complete three short questionnaires about their child. Young people aged 16-18 years will also be asked to complete these questionnaires. In total, we will ask families to make one to two additional visits to Midlands Psychology. We will examine how well outcome on the DISCO Abbreviated agrees with the diagnosis provisionally agreed by the clinical team. All information collected as part of the research study will be provided for consideration by the clinical team when making their final diagnosis.
Evidence of good agreement between the DISCO Abbreviated and clinician’s judgement will support the use of this interview in clinical practice, thus facilitating standardised diagnosis in clinically-feasible time-frames.
Summary of Results
The aim of this study was to examine an abbreviated form of a standardised clinical interview schedule that is used to support the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. Building on existing research, the plan was to embed this schedule within the standard clinical care pathway within Midlands Psychology, enabling direct comparison of outcome on the interview with best estimate clinical diagnosis.Unfortunately, due to changes in the status of Midlands Psychology - initially an NHS provider - we were not able to proceed as planned, despite all best efforts. It became clear that due to this change in status, it would no longer be possible to recruit the required number of participants, and also due to this change, it became clear that it would be too much of a burden for the clinical team to conduct the interviews as part of their standard care pathway. As such, no data were collected. I am currently working with another clinical service to develop plans to conduct this important work.
REC name
West Midlands - South Birmingham Research Ethics Committee
REC reference
19/WM/0008
Date of REC Opinion
14 Jun 2019
REC opinion
Further Information Favourable Opinion