Preliminary evidence for the ability of the Basic Activities of Daily Living Evaluation-School-Aged Version (BADL-E) to differentiate functional performance between children on the autism spectrum and the general population.

BACKGROUND: Few instruments have been specifically developed to assess the basic activities of daily living in school-aged children on the autism spectrum, particularly in Spanish-speaking contexts. AIMS: This study provides preliminary evidence on the psychometric properties of the Basic Activities of Daily Living Evaluation - School-Aged Version (BADL-E) and its ability to differentiate between groups. METHODS AND PROCEDURES: The sample included 312 children (271 from the general population and 41 with autism spectrum disorder) aged 7-12 years. The BADL-E comprises four scales: Eating, Personal Hygiene, Dressing, and Daily Functioning, including executive functioning-related demands (EF). Group differences were analyzed using Mann-Whitney U test and receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves. Evidence of validity based on internal structure was examined through correlations among the scales and their underlying factors. OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Statistically significant differences were observed between children from the general population and those on the autism spectrum across all scales, with large effect sizes (rrb = 0.59-0.72). The areas under the curve ranged from 0.78 to 0.86, indicating acceptable to excellent discriminative ability between the groups. Correlational analyses supported the instrument's internal structure, with correlations between scales ranging from rho = 0.526-0.832. At the factor level, the strongest association was between Hygiene and Grooming and Independent Dressing Tasks (rho = 0.808), which also correlated strongly with Showering (rho = 0.785) and moderately with Manual Dexterity. Higher-order EF showed stronger associations with everyday performance than Core EF. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: These findings provide preliminary evidence supporting the BADL-E as an occupation-centred instrument for assessing basic activities of daily living in school-aged children on the autism spectrum.