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. 2021 May;51(5):1508-1527.
doi: 10.1007/s10803-020-04573-6.

Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder in Toddlers Born Very Preterm: Estimated Prevalence and Usefulness of Screeners and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS)

Julie Vermeirsch  1 , Liedewij Verhaeghe  2 , Alexandra Casaer  3 , Fran Faes  4 , Ann Oostra  4 , Herbert Roeyers  5
Affiliations

Diagnosing Autism Spectrum Disorder in Toddlers Born Very Preterm: Estimated Prevalence and Usefulness of Screeners and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule (ADOS)

Julie Vermeirsch et al. J Autism Dev Disord. 2021 May.

Abstract

This study estimated ASD prevalence in a cohort of 3-year-old very preterm children (N = 55) and investigated the usefulness of parent-reported ASD screeners and the ADOS-2. 12.7% received an ASD diagnosis by clinical judgment based on DSM-5 criteria. An additional 14.5% were classified as having a broader-autism-phenotype outcome. Sensitivity values for the screeners were poor, whereas specificity values ranged from poor to excellent. The ADOS-2 identified all children with ASD and had a fair specificity. These findings confirm the elevated ASD prevalence made by previous studies with preterm children but also highlight the challenges of successfully identifying ASD in this at-risk group. Caution is warranted when interpreting results of ASD instruments with the currently available cut-off scores and algorithms, especially when developmental challenges are present.

Keywords: Autism diagnostic observation schedule; Autism spectrum disorder; Early diagnosis; Parent-reported screening questionnaires; Preterm birth; Very preterm-born children.

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