Cross-parent reliability in rating ASD markers in infants

Objective: To investigate the congruence and discrepancies between mother and father reports of early autism spectrum disorders (ASD) markers. Methods: Mothers (n=80) and fathers (n=78) of 12-month-old infants (55% boys) completed the first year inventory (FYI), an ASD norm-referenced screening questionnaire. Mothers also completed the Infant Toddler Social Emotional Assessment (ITSEA). Results: There were significant and moderate intra-class correlations between mother and father reports for most FYI factors. Fathers' median FYI social-communication domain score was almost twice that of mothers. Mann-Whitney tests indicated that fathers rated their child significantly higher than mothers on the four FYI social-communication factors and on the sensory processing factor. Linear weighted kappa analyses indicated poor agreement on gaze-related and reactivity FYI items. FYI social-communication and sensory-regulatory factors showed significant correlations with corresponding ITSEA scores. Conclusions: Social-communication markers pose a greater challenge for consistent report across parents than sensory-regulatory markers.