Conclusions We found patchy evidence on reliability and validity , for only a few of the tools used to measure behaviour problems in young children with ASD .
Background Behaviour problems are common in young children with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) .
There are many different tools used to measure behavior problems but little is known about their validity for the population .
Objectives To evaluate the measurement properties of behaviour problems tools  used in evaluation of intervention or observational research studies with children with ASD up to the age of six years .
Brief Report: Improvements in the Behavior of Children with Autism Following Massage Therapy
Twenty children with autism , ages 3 to 6 years , were r and omly assigned to massage therapy and reading attention control groups .  Parents in the massage therapy  group were trained by a massage therapist to massage their children for 15 minutes prior to bedtime every night for 1 month and the parents of the attention control group read Dr. Seuss stories to their children on the same time schedule . Conners Teacher and Parent scales , classroom and playground observations , and sleep diaries were used to assess the effects of therapy on various behaviors , including hyperactivity , stereotypical and off-task behavior , and sleep problems . Results suggested that the children in the massage group exhibited less stereotypic behavior and showed more on-task and social relatedness behavior during play observations at school , and they experienced fewer sleep problems at home
Conclusions We found patchy evidence on reliability and validity , for only a few of the tools used to measure behaviour problems in young children with ASD .
Background Behaviour problems are common in young children with autism spectrum disorder ( ASD ) .
There are many different tools used to measure behavior problems but little is known about their validity for the population .
Objectives To evaluate the measurement properties of behaviour problems tools  used in evaluation of intervention or observational research studies with children with ASD up to the age of six years .