title: The role of nurses in screening for autistic spectrum disorder in pediatric primary care.
abstract: This article addresses the issue of integration of routine screening for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in pediatric primary care. The relationship between screening and patient outcome is discussed. The ASD screening recommendations of the American Academy of Pediatrics and practical issues associated with their application are then reviewed. Finally, data from a pilot project to prepare nurses to conduct ASD screening during routine pediatric health visits are presented. The authors discuss the role of nurses in establishing systems within pediatric primary care to identify and refer children at risk for ASD.
authors.affiliation: Division of Biobehavioral Health Sciences, University of Pennsylvania School of Nursing, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA. pinto@nursing.upenn.edu
authors.forename: Jennifer A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Pinto-Martin
authors.forename: Margaret C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Souders
authors.forename: Ellen
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Giarelli
authors.forename: Susan E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Levy
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology / Q000451:nursing; D019985:Benchmarking; D002648:Child; D002652:Child Behavior; D002657:Child Development; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods* / Q000451:nursing* / Q000592:standards; D024802:Nurse's Role; D009730:Nursing Assessment / Q000379:methods; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D015403:Nursing Evaluation Research; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education; D010371:Pediatric Nursing / Q000193:education / Q000379:methods*; D010414:Pennsylvania; D010865:Pilot Projects; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D011320:Primary Health Care / Q000379:methods* / Q000592:standards; D002666:Psychology, Child; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity