title: Screening for autistic spectrum in children aged 14 to 15 months. I: the development of the Early Screening of Autistic Traits Questionnaire (ESAT).
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Center Utrecht, B01.201, Post Box 85500, 3508, GA, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
authors.forename: Sophie H N
authors.initials: SH
authors.lastname: Swinkels
authors.forename: Claudine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Dietz
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: van Daalen
authors.forename: Ine H G M
authors.initials: IH
authors.lastname: Kerkhof
authors.forename: Herman
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: van Engeland
authors.forename: Jan K
authors.initials: JK
authors.lastname: Buitelaar
mesh_terms: D020817:Asperger Syndrome / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001289:Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000523:psychology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D008403:Mass Screening; D009426:Netherlands; D010865:Pilot Projects; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires