title: [Early detection of autism: professionals involved].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  The importance of early detection in order to improve the prognosis of children with developmental disorders, especially autism spectrum disorders (ASD), has been widely proven, clearly followed by the corresponding intervention. The aim of this work is to define the age at which the first signs of an autism spectrum disorder show up, the professionals that families go to, as well as delays confirming a diagnosis and the celerity offered by paediatricians.
  
  
  METHODS
  A transversal, retrospective study carried out in 2010 in the Canary Islands. The voluntary cooperation of family associations, and families that received treatment in specialized centres was requested. 72 "Questionnaires for families of people with autism" were gathered. A descriptive analysis of frequencies was carried out, using the statistics programme SPSS Statistics 19.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In 79% of the cases it was the family who first suspected there was something wrong with the children's development, followed by teachers (15%) and health care staff (pediatricians 4% and psychologists, 2%). 69% of the children were first diagnosed before turning 3 years of age, 32% of them were diagnosed even before turning two years of age. The delay regarding diagnosis in the Canary Islands circa 16 months.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Most parents of children with ASD were aware of the developmental disorders that their children were experiencing at around 18 months of age. A tendency to a faster response time by health care professionals was confirmed.
authors.affiliation: Departamento de Psicología y Sociología, Facultad de Formación del Profesorado, Universidad de Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, Las Palmas de Gran Canaria, España.
authors.forename: Ma del Sol
authors.initials: Mdel S
authors.lastname: Fortea Sevilla
authors.forename: Ma Olga
authors.initials: MO
authors.lastname: Escandell Bermúdez
authors.forename: José Juan
authors.initials: JJ
authors.lastname: Castro Sánchez
mesh_terms: D000367:Age Factors; D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis; D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005178:Faculty; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010290:Parents; D010372:Pediatrics; D011584:Psychology; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D013030:Spain; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires