Daily living pain assessment in children with autism: Exploratory study.
A French parent checklist spots pain in preschoolers with autism by mixing classic pain cues and autism-only signals.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team translated the English NCCPC-ASD pain checklist into French.
They asked 145 parents of preschoolers with autism to fill it out.
Statistical tests checked if the French version still measured pain well.
What they found
The French form kept the same six-behavior pattern as the original.
Scores were stable and matched doctor pain ratings.
Both typical pain signs and autism-only signs (like repetitive talk) counted.
How this fits with other research
Grodberg et al. (2012) and Mandell et al. (2016) built quick autism screens.
This pain tool extends their idea: brief, autism-tuned checklists work.
Green et al. (2020) also validated a French parent form, showing the method travels.
Robinson et al. (2016) proved observer scales pick up hidden autism traits; pain is another hidden trait that parents can score.
Why it matters
Young kids with autism often hurt but can’t say so.
A free, 30-item parent form gives you a fast pain read-out.
Use it at intake, after surgery, or when behavior spikes.
If the score is high, treat pain first, then behavior.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study aims to broaden knowledge about pain expression and assessment in daily life situations in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). The goals are to provide a description of the responses of the GED-DI, the French version of the NCCPC, and to test the internal structure validity of this scale. Thirty five children with ASD were included in this study (mean age=58months; mean developmental age=32months). The French version of the NCCPC was filled in by parents. Descriptive analysis of responses shows that children with ASD express pain through varied and common behaviours, related to different expressive markers (vocal, facial, activity, etc.). Behaviours more specific to the symptomology and disturbances of ASD are also displayed. A four-factor solution (negative emotional reaction, idiosyncratic expression, hyper-vigilance reaction, pain expression) emerges from an exploratory factor analysis that explains 54.4% of the total variance. Correlation coefficients show good psychometric qualities in terms of internal consistency, factorial validity and discriminant validity. This study provides new data about pain expression in daily life situations and shows that the French version of NCCPC adjusted to ASD children is relevant to assess pain in daily life situations.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2017 · doi:10.1016/j.ridd.2017.01.003