title: Screening for autism spectrum disorders: state of the art in Europe.
abstract: A large number of studies have reported on the validity of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) screening procedures. An overall understanding of these studies' findings cannot be based solely on the level of internal validity of each, since screening instruments might perform differently according to certain factors in different settings. Europe has led the field with the development of the first screening tool and first prospective screening study of autism. This paper seeks to provide an overview of ASD screening studies and ongoing programmes across Europe, and identify variables that have influenced the outcomes of such studies. Results show that, to date, over 70,000 children have been screened in Europe using 18 different screening procedures. Differences among findings across studies have enabled us to identify ten factors that may influence screening results. Although it is impossible to draw firm conclusions as to which screening procedure is most effective, this analysis might facilitate the choice of a screening method that best fits a specific scenario, and this, in turn, may eventually improve early ASD detection procedures.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Rare Diseases Research (Instituto de Investigación de Enfermedades Raras, IIER), Carlos III Institute of Health, Madrid, Spain, pgarciaprimo@isciii.es.
authors.forename: Patricia
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: García-Primo
authors.forename: Annika
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hellendoorn
authors.forename: Tony
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Charman
authors.forename: Herbert
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Roeyers
authors.forename: Mieke
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dereu
authors.forename: Bernadette
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Roge
authors.forename: Sophie
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Baduel
authors.forename: Filippo
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Muratori
authors.forename: Antonio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Narzisi
authors.forename: Emma
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Van Daalen
authors.forename: Irma
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Moilanen
authors.forename: Manuel Posada
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: de la Paz
authors.forename: Ricardo
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Canal-Bedia
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002659:Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / Q000175:diagnosis*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005060:Europe; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008403:Mass Screening / Q000379:methods*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D015203:Reproducibility of Results