The validity of the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits: Part 1 (BISCUIT: Part 1).
A 10-minute parent interview lines up with M-CHAT and gives you another quick screen for toddlers.
01Research in Context
What this study did
The team tested a 10-minute parent interview called BISCUIT-Part 1.
They gave it to the toddlers months during clinic visits.
Then they compared scores to two gold-standard screeners: M-CHAT and BDI-2.
What they found
BISCUIT scores lined up well with M-CHAT and the social part of BDI-2.
They did not line up with motor or language items, showing it targets autism traits.
How this fits with other research
van den Broek et al. (2006) showed M-CHAT misses some higher-functioning kids. BISCUIT agrees with M-CHAT, so it likely shares the same blind spot.
Bong et al. (2021) added a 15-minute play piece to their 10-minute interview and reached 85-92 % sensitivity. BISCUIT lacks play, so you might add a brief observation if you need higher accuracy.
Kremkow et al. (2022) reviewed tablet games that score eye gaze and movement. These tools are still lab toys, while BISCUIT is ready to use today with just paper and pen.
Why it matters
You can swap BISCUIT-Part 1 into any 18-36 month checkup without extra time. If a child fails, still refer for full evaluation—just like with M-CHAT. If the child seems high-functioning, add a short play probe or use BeDevel steps to catch kids the interview alone might miss.
Want CEUs on This Topic?
The ABA Clubhouse has 60+ free CEUs — live every Wednesday. Ethics, supervision & clinical topics.
Join Free →Print BISCUIT-Part 1, time the interview during the next toddler intake, and compare results with your usual M-CHAT.
02At a glance
03Original abstract
A top priority in the field of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is the development of precise early diagnostic tools that can be completed with minimal time and training. We report on the convergent and divergent validity of the Baby and Infant Screen for Children with aUtIsm Traits (BISCUIT), specifically the BISCUIT-Part 1. Previous research with this scale has determined its reliability and sensitivity/specificity. In this study, a sample of 1,007 toddlers 17-37 months of age were assessed individually. The BISCUIT-Part 1 demonstrated good convergent validity with the Modified CHecklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) and the Personal Social domain from the Battelle Developmental Inventory, Second Edition (BDI-2). Additionally, divergent validity was demonstrated by its small correlation with the Adaptive and Motor domains from the BDI-2.
Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2011 · doi:10.1007/s10803-010-0973-3