The Autism Impact Measure (AIM): initial development of a new tool for treatment outcome measurement.
The 25-item Autism Impact Measure gives clinicians a fast, reliable parent report for tracking core autism signs every two weeks.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team built a short survey for parents. It has 25 items. Parents rate how often each autism behavior happens and how much it gets in the way.
They checked if the survey gives steady answers and truly measures autism signs. Kids in the study had autism spectrum disorder.
What they found
The survey held up well. Scores stayed steady when parents took it again. Higher scores matched more autism signs seen in other tests.
The tool was named the Autism Impact Measure, or AIM. It takes about five minutes to finish and looks at a two-week window.
How this fits with other research
Tde Wit et al. (2024) built a very similar 25-item parent survey called the ASDQ. Their numbers looked even stronger, so the ASDQ may now outrank the AIM for tracking change.
Grodberg et al. (2012) and Mandell et al. (2016) worked on the 8-item AMSE. The AMSE is for clinicians to watch kids in person, while the AIM is for parents to fill out at home. Both aim to speed up assessment.
Chowdhury et al. (2016) made the 24-item HSQ-ASD. Like the AIM, it is parent-friendly and brief. The HSQ-ASD zooms in on non-compliance, whereas the AIM covers broader core symptoms.
Why it matters
You now have choices. If you want a quick parent view of core autism signs, the AIM is ready. If you want the strongest numbers, look at the newer ASDQ. Either way, you can give the form at intake and every few weeks to see if behaviors shift. No extra clinic time needed.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
The current study describes the development and psychometric properties of a new measure targeting sensitivity to change of core autism spectrum disorder (ASD) symptoms, the Autism Impact Measure (AIM). The AIM uses a 2-week recall period with items rated on two corresponding 5-point scales (frequency and impact). Psychometric properties were examined using a large sample (n = 440) of children with ASD enrolled in the Autism Treatment Network. The exploratory factor analysis indicated four factors and resulted in a 25-item questionnaire with excellent overall model fit. Test-retest reliability, cross-informant reliability, and convergent validity with other measures of ASD symptoms and overall functioning were strong. The AIM is a reliable and valid measure of frequency and impact of core ASD symptoms.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2014 · doi:10.1007/s10803-013-1862-3