Nishiyama et al. (
2013) recently examined the reliability and construct validity of the Broad Autism Phenotype Questionnaire (BAPQ) and three other instruments with the goal of measuring quantitative autistic traits in 64 individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and two population samples. As the authors of the BAPQ (Hurley et al.
2007; Sasson et al.
2013),we write to point out that although the study appeared to be carefully and thoughtfully conducted in almost every way, the BAPQ was not designed to be administered to individuals with ASD, nor measure the defining characteristics of autism. Thus, we question the appropriateness of the validation process employed by the authors as well as their interpretation of the study’s results. …
