Screening program for autism spectrum disorders in the west of Iran

Abstract

There are few epidemiological data regarding the autism spectrum disorders (ASD) screening program in Iran and as yet screening for children at age 18 months has been not performed. The present study aimed to perform a screening program for children with ASD in Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted for screening children with ASD. The age and stages Questionnaire-18 (ASQ-18) month questionnaire was sent via a mobile-based application to all parents of children. If the child’s score was below the cutoff, the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) questionnaire was mailed. For those with positive M-CHATs, the M-CHAT/F Follow-up interview was performed. Finally, children with ASD according to The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R) and examination were diagnosed. Of these children, 1221 (48%) were girls and 1341 (52%) were boys. Of the parent respondents, 232 (9%) children had a positive ASQ-18 questionnaire. For this purpose, the M-CHAT was sent to the parents of these children. Of the 232 children with ASQ positive, 179 (77.1%) parents completed M-CHAT. On the M-CHAT, 43 (24.0%) children screened positive and 136 (76.0%) children passed on M-CHAT-R screening. In this stage of the 43 screen-positive children, health care providers asked parents to refer to their children for performing the M-CHAT at follow-up. For a total of 33 children, the M-CHAT Follow-up was performed. Of these samples, 7 children had positive M-CHAT Follow-up. Therefore, ADI-R was conducted for these children to diagnose ASD. In the end, based on ADI-R and diagnostic evaluation performed by the child and adolescent psychologists, 7 children had ASD. The findings of the present study show that a mobile-based application can be utilized for screening children at risk of ASD. Therefore, We suggest that the application be used for screening children with ASD.