Parent and professional agreement on cognitive level of children with autism.

The aim of the study was to compare the extent of agreement between parents and professional evaluators regarding the cognitive level of children with autism. We sought to determine the degree of parent and standardized test agreement about the child's cognitive level for children at different levels of cognitive functioning. Information regarding parental view of cognitive levels was collected from the questionnaires used during the initial evaluation. These levels were compared with age equivalencies obtained by professionals from standardized intellectual measures. Significant difference between parental perception and professional assessment of the child's cognitive level was found. In addition, there was significant correlation between the level of agreement and cognitive functioning; agreement increased as the level of cognitive functioning increased.