Sensitivity of the modified Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale to detect change: Results from two multi-site trials.
The CY-BOCS-ASD is a sensitive yardstick for measuring real drops in repetitive behavior during autism drug or combo trials.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Scahill et al. (2016) tested if the modified Children’s Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale for autism (CY-BOCS-ASD) can spot real change.
They ran two large drug trials with kids and teens who have autism. The scale was filled out by clinicians before and after treatment.
What they found
The CY-BOCS-ASD scores dropped much more in kids who got real pills than in kids who got sugar pills.
The size of the drop was large and the math said it was not luck. The scale caught change when change really happened.
How this fits with other research
Pijl et al. (2018) also asked, "Can a new tool catch change?" They tested the Brief Observation of Social Communication Change (BOSCC) and saw it move too. Both studies say these fresh scales work better than the old ADOS for tracking small gains.
Faja et al. (2023) lined up eight social tools side-by-side. They found all could tell ASD from typical kids, but only some felt change over six weeks. Their data back Lawrence: pick a scale that lines up with the skill you are treating.
Matson et al. (2013) ran a drug-plus-parent-training RCT and used a short video code called SOAP. Like Lawrence, they saw measurable change in child behavior. Together the papers show direct observation, whether CY-BOCS-ASD or SOAP, beats guesswork in trials.
Why it matters
If you run medication checks or combined treatment studies, use the CY-BOCS-ASD to track repetitive behavior. It gives a clear number that parents, doctors, and insurers trust. Add it at intake, midpoint, and endpoint to show true progress and keep your trial clean.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Repetitive behavior is a core feature of autism spectrum disorder. We used 8-week data from two federally funded, multi-site, randomized trials with risperidone conducted by the Research Units on Pediatric Psychopharmacology Autism Network to evaluate the sensitivity of the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale modified for autism spectrum disorder to detect change with treatment. Study 1 included 52 subjects assigned to placebo and 49 subjects to risperidone under double-blind conditions. In Study 2, 49 subjects received risperidone only and 75 subjects received risperidone plus parent training. The combined sample consisted of 187 boys and 38 girls (aged 4-17 years). At the medication-free baseline, the internal consistency on the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale modified for autism spectrum disorder total score was excellent (Cronbach's alpha = 0.84) and the mean scores were similar across the four groups. Compared to placebo in Study 1, all three active treatment groups showed significant improvement (effect sizes: 0.74-0.88). There were no differences between active treatment groups. These results indicate that the Children's Yale-Brown Obsessive Compulsive Scale modified for autism spectrum disorder has acceptable test-retest as evidenced by the medium to high correlations in the placebo group and demonstrated sensitivity to change with treatment.
Autism : the international journal of research and practice, 2016 · doi:10.1177/1362361315574889