Feasibility of the Children’s Health Questionnaire for Measuring Outcomes of Recreational Therapy Interventions in Autism Populations

Abstract

Autism stakeholder groups prioritize applied intervention research to improve conditions co-occurring with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), but health-related quality of life measures aren’t established for children with ASD. The purpose of this study was to estimate rates and variability of responses of parents of children with ASD on the Children’s Health Questionnaire (CHQ) to inform future recreational therapy intervention research with this population. This study used pre-post design to gather parent responses for 31 children with ASD before and after intervention. Confidence intervals indicated CHQ summary scores were more precise than scale scores. Several profile scales showed greater variability at post-testing. Parents of children with ASD reported lower scores than the general population across all CHQ measures, particularly in behavior, mental health and psychosocial health. The CHQ PF-28 is an appropriate measure of health-related quality of life of children with ASD. Future research should confirm these findings and investigate use of child report versions of the CHQ with children with ASD. Subscribe to TRJ