Screening for autism spectrum disorders in Flemish day-care centres with the checklist for early signs of developmental disorders

J Autism Dev Disord. 2010 Oct;40(10):1247-58. doi: 10.1007/s10803-010-0984-0.

Abstract

A new screening instrument for ASD was developed that can be filled out by child care workers: the Checklist for Early Signs of Developmental Disorders (CESDD). The predictive validity of the CESDD was evaluated in a population of 6,808 children between 3 and 39 months attending day-care centres in Flanders. The CESDD had a sensitivity of .80 and a specificity of .94. Based on the screening procedure used in this study, 41 children were diagnosed with ASD or got a working diagnosis of ASD. Thus, including child care workers' report on signs of ASD in screening procedures can help to identify cases of ASD at a young age.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Belgium
  • Checklist
  • Child Day Care Centers*
  • Child Development Disorders, Pervasive / diagnosis*
  • Child, Preschool
  • Developmental Disabilities / diagnosis*
  • Humans
  • Mass Screening
  • Population Surveillance