Autism experts have come up with a new 63-question survey that can help identify some children at risk of developing the hard-to-diagnose condition as young as 12 months. The questionnaire, completed by parents, can lead to earlier diagnosis and treatment that can help children better manage the behavioral and mental challenges autism poses.
University of North Carolina School of Medicine specialists who developed the questionnaire said it was able to accurately identify 31 percent of children identified as at risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) at 12 months who received a confirmed diagnosis of ASD by age 3 years.
In addition, 85 percent of the children found to be at risk for ASD based on results from the so-called First Year Inventory (FYI) had some other developmental disability or concern by age 3, said researcher Grace Baranek, an expert with the Program for Early Autism, Research, Leadership and Service in the Department of Allied Health Sciences at UNC.
"Identification of children at risk for ASD at 12 months could provide a substantial number of children and their families with access to intervention services months or years before they would otherwise receive a traditional diagnosis," added lead researcher Lauren Turner-Brown.
A study tracking the accuracy of the FYI test was reported in Autism: The International Journal of Research & Practice. For the study, researchers asked parents of 699 children to complete the FYI test when their children 12 months old then tracked which of the children were diagnosed with ASD by age 3.
"These findings are encouraging and suggest promise in the approach of using parent report of infant behaviors as a tool for identifying 12-month-olds who are at risk for an eventual diagnosis of ASD," Turner-Brown said.