Preterm children have an increased risk of falling for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). But an early diagnosis of ASD is challenging because of the lesser reliability of conventional screening Level 1 tools in this population. A recent study determined if the Autism Detection in Early
Childhood (ADEC) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL) accurately identify the children at risk for ASD in a NICU Follow-up setting and thus ease referral for formal ASD evaluation.The study recruited children aged 18–36 months from a NICU Follow-up program and were given presumptive diagnoses based on DSM-5 criteria and screened for ASD risk with the ADEC and CBCL. Children falling in the “at-risk” range on either tool were referred for a full diagnostic ASD evaluation.The results were as follows-69 patients (median birth weight 1140 g; median gestational age 28 weeks) were comprised with 18 designated “at-risk” for ASD. 13 % of them achieved “at-risk” on the ADEC, while 17 % on the CBCL. 13 children experienced diagnostic ASD evaluation with 9 obtaining a formal diagnosis of ASD. The ADEC showed the best performance with a sensitivity of 89% and specificity of 98%. The CBCL was shown to be lesser sensitive with a sensitivity of 50% and specificity of 90%. Requiring elevated scores on both the CBCL and ADEC was rendered specific but not sensitive (with a sensitivity of 33%, and a specificity of 100%).The ADEC excellently identified children at risk for ASD within this high-risk NICU cohort, adding advantage as an autism-specific screening tool over the CBCL alone.Source: Haffner DN, Bartram LR, Coury DL. et al. The Autism Detection in Early Childhood Tool: Level 2 autism spectrum disorder screening in a NICU Follow-up program, Infant Behavior and Development, 2021;65. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.infbeh.2021.101650.