Dr. Bishop et al. Reply

In “The Need for a Clinically Useful Schema of Social Communication,” Blank et al. present an observation and coding method (The Initiating, Responding, Expectancy Violations [IREV] schema) for identifying “expectancy violations (EVs),” which may signal clinically significant departures from n ormal social communication behavior (eg, in individuals with autism spectrum disorder [ASD]).1 The authors point out that “historically, observation of a patient’s (social communication) has not been part of the routine psychiatric mental status examination,” and argue that this is an importan t missed opportunity for clinicians. Several direct observation methods exist for identifying and/or monitoring changes in social communication deficits associated with ASD.2 Despite their established diagnostic validity, it remains true that these measures used in isolation will result in a relativ ely high rate of “false positives”—usually comprising children who are better described with other diagnoses (eg, intellectual disability, language disorder, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder [ADHD]).2 This underscores the critical importance of context when interpreting observed social communication deficits.
Source: Journal of the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry - Category: Psychiatry Authors: Tags: Letter to the editor Source Type: research