Early Symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder in Children Identified Through Screening at a Very Young Age

Background: although parents often report concerns about the development of their child as early as the second and sometimes the first year of life (De Giacomo & Fombonne, 1998; Gray & Tonge, 2001; Howlin & Asgharian, 1999), many children receive a diagnosis much later (Cox et al., 1999; Howlin & Asgharian, 1999; Charman & Baird, 2002; Lord et al., 2006). This might be partly due to the lack of clear diagnostic criteria for children at a young age. Objectives: we have developed a screening procedure, the Early Screening for Autistic Traits (ESAT) (Dietz et al., 2006; Swinkels et al., 2006). This screening procedure was applied to a population cohort of 31.724 children at 14-months of age at well-baby clinics. The aim of this part of the study is to describe early signs and symptoms of ASD, when children are ascertained at a very young age from a population-based sample which included children with developmental delay. Methods: in a prospective design preschoolers were recruited from a screening study for ASD. Diagnoses were ascertained at 26 and 42 months of age. Diagnostic instruments and symptom clusters at age 26 months were evaluated on their predictive abilities of developmental disorders and especially ASD at age 42 months.

Results: the evaluation is still in progress. Results will be presented.

Conclusions: the conclusion will be presented.