| Description |
The current study sought information from parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) about concerns that they might have had prior to their child being screened for ASD. The aim was to determine which symptoms were most likely to be missed by parents, and which concerns are more likely to predict the results obtained from early childhood screenings. Factors contributing to the accuracy of parental report and their seeking assistance to address concerns were also investigated. Participants were drawn from the population of 813 children who were screened for ASD as part of the larger Each Child Study, a project intended to investigate the feasibility of systematically screening children for ASD during visits to pediatricians or primary care physicians. As part of this study, children were initially screened at the pediatrician's office and those who screened positive for ASD were called for a follow-up telephone interview. The sample for the current study included the 162 parents who were successfully contacted for this follow-up interview. Ages of participants ranged from 15 to 31 months, with a mean age of 22 months. Fifty-eight percent of participants were male while 35 % were female. During the phone interview, participants were first asked to report any concerns about their child's development and then to confirm the responses given on the screeners completed at the pediatrician's office. Those who continued to screen positive after the phone interview were invited for an in-person screening to confirm results. Results of this study suggested that parents of children who screened positive for ASD missed social behavior and stereotyped behavior symptoms more frequently than other ASD symptoms. Parents accurately reported language delay more frequently than other ASD symptoms. No specific parental concern was found to be predictive of screening outcome but findings suggest that the presence of concerns in more than one category may predict a positive screen for ASD. Parents who reported concerns about abnormal social behavior and stereotyped repetitive behaviors were more likely to have sought assistance for their concerns than parents who had reported concern in other areas. Maternal age and the presence of older siblings do not appear to impact a parent's ability to recognize and become concerned by ASD symptoms and the influence of family structure (number of parents in the home) could not be assessed because of the limited range of the sample on this factor. Overall, results suggest that parents could benefit from additional information about the early signs of autism, specifically normal versus abnormal social interaction and repetitive, stereotyped behavior. |
