Sensitivity and Specificity of the EFA Adaptive Functioning Scale for Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual Disability.
The Brazilian EFA reliably flags adaptive-functioning deficits in kids with ASD or ID, giving BCBAs a psychometrically sound local screening option.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Researchers tested the EFA Adaptive Functioning Scale on 8-young learners in Brazil.
They included kids with autism, kids with intellectual disability, and neurotypical kids.
The team checked if the scale could tell who had real adaptive-skill deficits and who did not.
What they found
The EFA caught 87-94 % of kids who truly had adaptive deficits.
It also ruled out 91-95 % of kids who did not have deficits.
Overall accuracy was excellent, making it a trustworthy local screening tool.
How this fits with other research
Terroux et al. (2025) looked at even younger kids and found the same link: weaker executive function means lower adaptive skills.
Drijver et al. (2025) also built a new adaptive scale, but for adults with severe ID, showing the field is moving toward better tools for every age group.
Austin et al. (2015) showed adaptive gaps widen with age in high-functioning autism; the EFA now gives you a quick way to spot those gaps early before they grow.
Tyler et al. (2021) used CBCL and TRF to flag behavior problems in Brazilian kids; the EFA adds adaptive-function data, so you can pair both for a fuller picture.
Why it matters
You can start using the EFA today to screen adaptive skills in your Brazilian clients. It is short, free, and already normed on local kids. Pair it with executive-function or behavior checklists to plan targeted skill-building programs before gaps widen.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
PURPOSE: The assessment of adaptive functioning is essential in neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Intellectual Disability (ID) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), as a diagnostic criterion and as a definer of the level of severity or support. The Adaptive Functioning Scale (Escala de Funcionamento Adaptativo - EFA) is a Brazilian instrument for assessing adaptive functioning in children and adolescents aged 6 to 15. This study aimed to investigate evidence of the validity of EFA criteria as a screening instrument FA difficulties in individuals with ID and ASD. METHOD: 917 EFA children and adolescents without diagnoses of neurodevelopmental disorders participated, 76 with a diagnosis of ID, and 65 with ASD. RESULTS: Variance analyses indicated differences in Z values in the three dimensions for the three groups. The differences presented a medium effect size, with the following partial Eta squared values: Social = 0.40; Practical = 0.43; Conceptual = 0.58. Sensitivity values ranged from 90 to 91% and 87 to 94%, while specificity values ranged from 64 to 74% and 63 to 90% in the ASD and ID groups respectively. The AUC values obtained for the EFA indicate that it has an excellent discriminatory capacity between the different aspects of adaptive functioning in the three domains of the instrument. CONCLUSION: The EFA showed a greater ability to identify individuals with ASD and ID compared to individuals without diagnosis for all domains.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2025 · doi:10.1590/S0102-79722011000100015