Relation of the childhood autism rating scale-parent version to diagnosis, stress, and age.
CARS-P severity scores distinguish autism from PDD-NOS and signal parenting stress, so use them to guide both diagnosis and family support.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Carr et al. (2002) asked parents to fill out the Childhood Autism Rating Scale-Parent version. They wanted to see if the scores matched the child’s diagnosis and stress levels.
The team looked at kids with autism and kids with PDD-NOS. They checked if higher CARS-P scores meant more parenting stress.
What they found
Parents of kids with autism gave higher severity ratings than parents of kids with PDD-NOS. The scores also predicted child-related parenting stress.
Age links were mixed. The pattern changed across groups, so age alone does not explain the scores.
How this fits with other research
Green et al. (2013) pooled 32 years of data. They found good reliability for CARS scores, backing the tool used here.
Harrop et al. (2016) tracked families over time. They showed that rising repetitive behaviors raise caregiver stress, matching the stress link seen here.
Foody et al. (2015) added saliva and blood-pressure data. Moms reported more stress, dads showed higher blood pressure, both aligning with the survey stress found here.
Why it matters
You can trust CARS-P to flag autism versus PDD-NOS and spot parents under stress. Pair the form with a quick stress survey during intake. If scores are high, plan parent support right away, not just child goals.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Add the 14-item CARS-P to your intake packet and set a cutoff score to trigger a parent stress check-in.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
This study explored the relation of severity of functional impairment on the Childhood Autism Rating Scale-Parent version (CARS-P) to diagnosis, parenting stress, and child age. Twenty-two mothers of children with autism and 19 mothers of children with pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified (PDD-NOS) completed the CARS-P and the Parenting Stress Index. The autism group received significantly higher (i.e., more severe impairment) CARS-P ratings that did the PDD-NOS group. For the total sample, severity of impairment was a significant predictor of child-related parenting stress. The CARS-P was inconsistently associated with age-significantly positive for the PDD-NOS group but nonsignificantly for the autism group. Implications for the use of the CARS-P in assessment of children and the evaluation of interventions are discussed.
Research in developmental disabilities, 2002 · doi:10.1016/s0891-4222(02)00099-9