Abstract
This article describes the development of a screening instrument for young children. Screening items were tested first in a non-selected population of children aged 8–20 months (n = 478). Then, parents of children with clinically diagnosed ASD (n = 153, average age 87 months) or ADHD (n = 76, average age 112 months) were asked to score the items retrospectively for when their child was 14 months old. A 14-item screening instrument, Early Screening of Autistic Traits (ESAT) which had maximal sensitivity and specificity for ASD was developed. The sensitivity of the ESAT was checked in an independent sample of 34 children aged 16–48 months clinically diagnosed with ASD. A 4-item version appears to be a promising prescreening instrument.
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Acknowledgments
This study was supported by grants 940-38-045 and 940-38-014 (Chronic Disease Program), by grant 28.3000-2 of the Praeventiefonds-ZONMW, by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO), by a grant from the Dutch Ministry of Health, Welfare and Culture, and by grants from Cure Autism Now, and the Korczak Foundation.
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Swinkels, S.H.N., Dietz, C., van Daalen, E. et al. Screening for Autistic Spectrum in Children Aged 14 to 15 Months. I: The Development of the Early Screening of Autistic Traits Questionnaire (ESAT). J Autism Dev Disord 36, 723–732 (2006). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0115-0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10803-006-0115-0