The psychometrics initiative focuses on improving and developing psychological assessments for screening and diagnosing children with autism. The initiative was kicked off in 1997 with a CAN-organized meeting to develop a practical screening tool, the Autism Screening and Diagnostic Evaluation , for primary care physicians.

To spur more research in this area, CAN issued a specific request for proposals (RFP) on psychometrics. As a result of the RFP, CAN funded four grants related to developing quantitative tools to better assess autism.

Psychometrics Initiative Grants:
The Pre-school Social Communication Assessment Measure (PSCAM): Sensitivity to Developmental Change and Early Intervention Efforts
--Tony Charman, Ph.D., Institute of Child Health, United Kingdom

To Further Develop Several Methods for Reliable, Quantitative, and Reproducible Measures of Attention, and of Implicit and Explicit Memory for Individuals with Autism
--Barry Gordon, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine

Quantitative Psychophysiologic Evaluation of Sensory Processing in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders
--Lucy Jane Miller, Ph.D., OTR, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center

Social Communication Skills Assessment System for Children with Autism: The ESCS-L and the PICS
--Peter Mundy, Ph.D., University of Miami

In addition to these grants, in 2005 CAN awarded a psychometrics initiative bridge grant to researchers who are working to develop cognitive assessment tools for non-verbal individuals with autism. This population is traditionally under-served because it is often extremely difficult to gauge their intellectual abilities.

Cognitive Assessment of Autistic Spectrum Disorders: A Comparative Neuropsychological Perspective
--Norton Milgram, Ph.D., University of Toronto at Scarborough, Ontario, Canada