Stability & Discrepancy: Exploring Autistic Youth and Parent Report of Social Behaviors in Two Clinical Trials

Research Poster Social & Behavioral Sciences 2025 Graduate Exhibition

Presentation by Hunter Mattern

Exhibition Number 158

Abstract

The Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) is a widely used measure of social-emotional competencies in youth and is recommended for assessing social communication behaviors in autistic youth1. Social skills are measured through multi-informant reports including parent, teacher, and self-report1. While parent and teacher reports demonstrate good reliability, discrepancies often emerge between parent and youth self-report2. Emerging evidence suggests these discrepancies may reflect unique perspectives rather than measurement error3,4,5. This study examined (1) the stability of autistic youth’s self-reports and parent report on the SSIS over time and (2) informant discrepancies between parent and youth report in two randomized clinical trials of the Social Games for Autistic Adolescents (SAGA) intervention. Results showed that autistic youth and parents provided consistent reports across time, with moderate to good reliability across both studies. However, inter-rater agreement between autistic youth and parents was poor for social skills and problem behaviors, with youth consistently rating their social skills higher and problem behaviors lower than their parents. Inter-rater reliability was poor between autistic youth and parents across both studies. These results suggest that autistic youth reliably self-report their experiences over time. This emphasizes the importance in including the autistic perspective and voice in research and assessment of interventions. The discrepancies between parent and youth report demonstrate the need for researchers to consider how the addition of autistic voices in research provides a clearer understanding of autistic experiences, better alignment with autistic priorities, and promotes more inclusive autism research.

Importance

This study demonstrates the critical need to include and center autistic voices in autism research, which aligns with calls from the autism community, the neurodiversity movement, and broader DEI efforts for including marginalized communities in research. Autism research has relied heavily on parent and teacher reports, often overlooking or discounting autistic individual’s self-report on their experiences. The findings from this study show that autistic youth reliably report their own experiences, which challenge the assumption that parent and teacher reports provide the most valid reports. Research such as this study, that recognize and value autistic perspectives will provide the most accurate, and inclusive research which ultimately will guide intervention and program creation.

DEI Statement

Aligned with the neurodiversity movement, this work emphasizes the shift toward autism research that prioritizes autistic perspectives. In recent years, the autistic community and autistic researchers have worked to transform research by challenging deficit-based models and advocating for more inclusive research questions and methods. Currently, much of the existing literature, especially in intervention research, relies on parent or teacher report, rather than autistic report or a combination of both, specifically with autistic youth. This study demonstrates that autistic youth reliability report their experiences using the SSIS, reinforcing the need to include and center their voices in scientific research. Including autistic perspectives ensures that the research reflects their priorities, moves past deficit-based models, and promotes more meaningful autism research.