Reliability of Childhood Autism Rating Scale, Second Edition, Assessments Using Telepsychiatry for Children With Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Their Caregivers: Randomized Feasibility Study

The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the demand for telepsychiatry in neurodevelopmental assessment; however, few studies have examined the interrater reliability of clinician-rated autism scales, such as the Childhood Autism Rating Scale, Second Edition (CARS2), when used remotely. Although the feasibility and validity of telehealth assessments have been explored previously, the consistency between remote and in person CARS2 ratings by different clinicians remains underinvestigated.

The objective of this study was to evaluate agreement between CARS2 total scores obtained by different evaluators using telepsychiatry and face-to-face assessments in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and/or attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).