Serbian Language version of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised, with Follow-Up: Cross-Cultural Adaptation and Assessment of Reliability

Mia Carakovac, Jelena Jovanovic, Marko Kalanj, Nenad Rudic, Olivera Aleksic–Hil, Branko Aleksic, Itzel Bustos Villalobos, Hideki Kasuya, Norio Ozaki, Dusica Lecic–Tosevski, Milica Pejovic–Milovancevic

Early detection of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has proven to be of high significance, however there is a limited availability of ASD screening tools in Serbian language. In this study we aim to translate, assess reliability and, in part, test the applicability of Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised, with Follow-Up (M-CHAT R/F) in Serbian Healthcare environment. We screened 128 children in three primary healthcare centres and 20 children in a tertiary psychiatric center, using M-CHAT R/F translated into Serbian language, between December 2014 and October 2015. At the end of the screening process 80% of participants in the risk group screened positive for ASD, while in the control group 4 (3.1%) participants screened positive, with a mean total scores of 8.25 and 0.66 respectively. The Cronbach's α coefficient was 0.91 and Guttman's λ6 was 0.93. Test - retest reliability was deemed as acceptable, and no significant correlation was found between M-CHAT-R/F scores and Epworth Sleepiness Scale for children scores. The Serbian version of the M-CHAT-R/F has shown satisfactory reliability. We can therefore assert that it is a reliable tool for identifying ASD and it can be used in clinical practice to improve early detection, assessment and treatment.