Psychometric Properties of Spanish Adaptation of the PDD-MRS Scale in Adults with Intellectual Developmental Disorders: The EVTEA-DI Scale.
EVTEA-DI is a reliable Spanish screener that correctly rules out 90% of adults with ID who do not have ASD.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Cortés et al. (2018) tested a new Spanish scale called EVTEA-DI. It screens for autism in adults with intellectual disability.
They checked if the scale gives steady scores, matches the well-known CARS test, and flags the right people.
What they found
EVTEA-DI showed good reliability and strong agreement with CARS scores.
The scale caught seven out of ten adults who truly had ASD. It correctly ruled out nine out of ten adults who did not.
How this fits with other research
Selau et al. (2025) got similar high specificity with the Brazilian EFA scale in kids, showing the 90% rule-out rate is not a fluke.
Vassos et al. (2023) reviewed mental-health tools for adults with ID and found most lack solid data; EVTEA-DI is one of the few with both reliability and validity reported.
Drijver et al. (2025) also released a new ID scale for adults, but theirs measures adaptive skills, not ASD, so the two tools fill different gaps in the same population.
Why it matters
If you serve Spanish-speaking adults with ID, you now have a quick, free screener that is unlikely to over-identify ASD. Use it at intake to decide who needs a full autism evaluation. Pair it with an adaptive-behavior tool like DIAB to get a fuller picture of your client’s needs.
Get CEUs on This Topic — Free
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Add the 15-item EVTEA-DI to your Spanish intake packet and score it before scheduling a CARS.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
Strategies for the early detection of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) in people with intellectual developmental disorder (IDD) are urgently needed, but few specific tools have been developed. The present study examines the psychometric properties of the EVTEA-DI, a Spanish adaptation of the PDD-MRS, in a large randomized sample of 979 adults with IDD. Factorial solution analysis suggested a three-factor solution (stereotyped behavior, communication, and social behavior). The EVTEA-DI showed good reliability and convergent validity when compared to the Childhood Autism Rating Scale. Discriminative validity analysis resulted in an acceptable global sensitivity of 70% and a high specificity of 90%. The EVTEA-DI proved to be a valid screening tool in ASD assessment of the adult Spanish population with IDD.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2018 · doi:10.1007/s10803-017-3416-6