ERIC Number: EJ1462994
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2025-Apr
Pages: 11
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-1056-263X
EISSN: EISSN-1573-3580
Available Date: 2024-03-15
A Preliminary Trial of an Early Surveillance Program for Autism and Developmental Delays within General Practices
Lisa Karlov1,2; Anne Masi2,3; Antonia Mendoza Diaz1,2; Feroza Khan2; Teresa Winata1,2; Melissa Gilbert4; Radhika Nair4; Cheryl Dissanayake3,4; Josephine Barbaro3,4; Valsamma Eapen1,2,3,5; Ifrah Abdullahi1,2,2,4,4,5,6,6,6,6,7,7,8,9,10; Ifrah Abdullahi4; Joseph Descallar5; John Eastwood6; Iqbal Hasan1,2; Bin Jalaludin6; Jane Kohlhoff2; S. T. Liaw6; Raghu Lingam7; Natalie Ong8; Chun Wah Michael Tam6,9; Katy Unwin4; Katrina Williams10; Sue Woolfenden7
Journal of Developmental and Physical Disabilities, v37 n2 p279-289 2025
There are inequities in engagement with established early childhood developmental surveillance programs, eclipsing disadvantaged families. The current study sought to address this by dovetailing developmental surveillance with immunization visits and other opportunistic contacts with children at general practices). While 53 General Practices were recruited, significant COVID-19 disruptions resulted in only 81 children being screened (both parent-administered and GP completed). Of the 81 children, 11 screened positive and all of them along with 5% of screen negatives (i.e. 4 children) received clinician-administered reference-standard assessment for autism and developmental delay (DD) using Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS), Autism Diagnostic Interview Schedule--Revised (ADI-R), and Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). All children found by reference-standard assessment to have probable autism and/or DD had screened positive during the screening process, and 90.9% of children who screened positive were found by reference-standard assessment to have probable DD or autism. The findings provide early evidence for the feasibility and usefulness of parent completed and GP administered developmental measures during opportunistic contacts with GPs as a promising method to facilitate early identification of DD or autism.
Descriptors: Autism Spectrum Disorders, Diagnostic Tests, Children, Young Children, Parents, Disability Identification, Physicians, Family Practice (Medicine), Early Intervention, Developmental Delays, Access to Health Care, Disadvantaged, Screening Tests, Parent Participation, Physician Patient Relationship
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Assessments and Surveys: Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule; Mullen Scales of Early Learning
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A
Author Affiliations: 1Academic Unit of Psychiatry, Infant Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services, South Western Sydney Local Health District, Sydney, Australia; 2University of New South Wales, Faculty of Medicine, School of Psychiatry, Sydney, Australia; 3The University of Queensland, Cooperative Research Centre for Living With Autism (Autism CRC), Indooroopilly, Australia; 4La Trobe University, Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, School of Psychology and Public Health, Bundoora, Australia; 5Ingham Institute for Applied Medical Research, Liverpool, NSW, Australia; South Western Sydney Clinical School, University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia; 6University of New South Wales, Faculty of Medicine, School of Population Health, Sydney, Australia; 7University of New South Wales, Population Child Health Research Group, Faculty of Medicine, School of Women’s and Children’s Health, Sydney, Australia; 8University of Sydney, Children’s Hospital Westmead Clinical School, Sydney, Australia; 9South Western Sydney Local Health District, Primary and Integrated Care Unit, Liverpool, Australia; 10Monash University, Department of Paediatrics, Melbourne, Australia