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| Reducing the delay to diagnosis for kids with ASD
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A new app which could help parents and carers identify autism earlier has been launched by La Trobe University's Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre (OTARC).
An estimated 1 in 50 children have an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and OTARC's research shows that the majority of these children are not diagnosed until they are four years old, more than two years after they can be reliably diagnosed and receive life-changing intervention.
The new app, ASDetect, which is being made available for free download, aims to shorten the delay to diagnosis to ensure children receive interventions as early as possible.
According to OTARC the technique underlying ASDetect has been used over the past decade by hundreds of maternal and child health nurses in Australia, as well as early childhood professionals around the world and has proven to be more than seven times more accurate than the next best tool in the early identification of autism.
The app uses questions drawn from breakthrough research by Dr Josephine Barbara from La Trobe University and gives parents access to video footage from actual clinical assessments and clearly demonstrates the context and expected key behaviours of children at each age.
"ASDetect is an empowering tool for parents who may feel their children are developing differently than expected and are looking for answers. The new ASDetect app is an ideal way to share proven techniques with thousands of parents," said Dr Barbaro.
Dr Barbaro says ASDetect guides parents through a series of potential 'red flag' signs of ASD, which can be raised when children repeatedly do not:
- Make consistent eye contact
- Share smiles
- Show their toys to others
- Play social games
- Point to indicate interest
- Respond when their name is called
Dr Barbaro says that typically all developing infants are motivated to be social, look at other people's faces, learn from them and copy.
"Children with ASD are not doing this-and we can now accurately identify this at a much younger age and take action, with the help of parents," said Dr Barbaro.
The app combines Dr Barbaro's assessment questions with videos demonstrating the 'red flag' behaviours critical in determining the likelihood of ASD in children as young as 12 months.
Parents view two videos: one showing a child with ASD, the other showing a typically developing child. Parents then answer questions regarding their own child. The information entered by the parents is automatically sent to OTARC's database where analysis of individual results is completed.
Parents are then sent information via a notification through the app, with advice as to whether they should seek professional help. As ASD can emerge over time, ASDetect includes assessments for children aged 12 months, 18 months and 24 months.
"This is not a replacement for professional assessment; however ASDetect will provide parents with an indication as to whether they should seek a professional opinion from a doctor at a time when intervention will have the biggest impact," said Dr Barbaro.
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