Adaptation and pilot implementation of the Psychosocial Assessment Tool for Autism Spectrum Disorders (PAT-ASD)

The team built a short online survey called PAT-ASD. It screens families of kids with autism for money stress, caregiver depression, and other risks.

They started with a literature search, then asked 12 autism providers and 10 parents what questions mattered. After three rewrites they posted the final 30-item form on the clinic web page.

For four months they invited families to try it at home. No one got paid. Staff simply emailed the link before routine visits.

Fifty-nine out of every 100 families opened the email and finished the survey. That is high for a free, unpaid request.

Most parents said the tool was “easy” and “useful.” Clinic staff liked having risk scores before the appointment.

An et al. (2025) did the same thing for physical-activity motivation. They also used focus groups and found good uptake. Both papers show that quick autism-specific tools can be built fast.

Nijs et al. (2016) made CAPES-DD, another parent questionnaire. CAPES-DD tracks child behavior and caregiver stress. PAT-ASD adds risk flags for money, housing, and depression. Together they give a fuller picture.

Shaban et al. (2026) took a different path. They cut a 10-minute eye-tracking test down to 4 minutes and got strong accuracy. Their work shows speed matters, but they used cameras, not surveys. The two studies do not clash; they attack different bottlenecks.

You can copy this model. Add the PAT-ASD link to your intake page. In five minutes you learn which families need extra help. You can line up social-work visits, respite vouchers, or mental-health referrals before the parent even walks in. No extra staff time, no paper.