Tools for Screening for Autism in Young Children
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Tools for Screening for Autism in Young Children
Methodological advances are assisting greatly with early identification and treatment of young childen with Autism. Through research we know that the early the Autism is identified and treated, the better the prognosis for the child.
There are several effective screening tools to use to identify and diagnose Autism in young children. These include:
STAT (Screening Tool for Autism in Two-year-olds)
Stone & Ousley, 1977
The STAT:
- differentiates between Autism and developmental disabilities
- tests communication, imitation, and play skills
- can be used for children between the ages of 24-35 months
- takes only 20 minutes to administer
- is conducted with the child
CHAT (Checklist for Autism in Toddlers)
Baron-Cohen, Allen & Gillberg, 1992
The CHAT:
- differentiates between Autism and typical development
- uses 18 items, 9 with the parent and 9 observational
- can be conducted at 18 months of age
M-CHAT (Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers)
Robins, Fein, Barton, & Green, 2001
The M-CHAT:
- expands the CHAT into a 23-item checklist that the parent alone can fill out in 10 minutes
- can be conducted between the ages of 18-24 months
- suggest referral of 3 of the 23 items are failed
PDDST (Pervasive Developmental Disorders Screening Test)
Siegel, 1996)
The PDDST:
- has 3 parent report subtests, each can stand alone
- includes 17 items to help discriminate PDD from other developmental disabilities
- includes 16 items that help discriminate PDDNOS
- can be conduced between 0-36 months
For more information about these screening tools, and Autism in general, visit: http://sites.netscape.net/glbenson1/homepage
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