Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Case Reports
. 2023 Sep:260:113514.
doi: 10.1016/j.jpeds.2023.113514. Epub 2023 May 25.

Delay from Screening to Diagnosis in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Results from a Large National Health Research Network

Yu-Hsin Chen  1 , Madison Drye  2 , Qiushi Chen  3 , Madison Fecher  2 , Guodong Liu  4 , Whitney Guthrie  5
Affiliations
Case Reports

Delay from Screening to Diagnosis in Autism Spectrum Disorder: Results from a Large National Health Research Network

Yu-Hsin Chen et al. J Pediatr. 2023 Sep.

Abstract

To examine delay from developmental screening to autism diagnosis, we used real-world health care data from a national research network to estimate the time between these events. We found an average delay of longer than 2 years from first screening to diagnosis, with no significant differences observed by sex, race, or ethnicity.

Keywords: autism; developmental screening; diagnostic delay; electronic health records data.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare no conflicts of interest. The study has been supported by the National Institute of Mental Health (1R21MH128646-01A1 to Q.C. and W.G., 1R21MH119480-01A1 to G.L.), the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences (UL1 TR002014), and the Brad Hollinger Autism Research Endowment (G.L.). The funders had no role in the study design; the collection, analysis, and interpretation of data; the writing of the report; and the decision to submit the manuscript for publication.

References

    1. Zwaigenbaum L, Bauman ML, Choueiri R, Kasari C, Carter A, Granpeesheh D, et al. Early Intervention for Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Under 3 Years of Age: Recommendations for Practice and Research. Pediatrics. 2015;136 Suppl 1:S60–81. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lipkin PH, Macias MM, COUNCIL ON CHILDREN WITH DISABILITIES SECTODABP. Promoting Optimal Development: Identifying Infants and Young Children With Developmental Disorders Through Developmental Surveillance and Screening. Pediatrics. 2020;145. - PubMed
    1. Lipkin PH, Macias MM, Baer Chen B, Coury D, Gottschlich EA, Hyman SL, et al. Trends in Pediatricians’ Developmental Screening: 2002–2016. Pediatrics. 2020;145. - PubMed
    1. Maenner MJ, Shaw KA, Bakian AV, Bilder DA, Durkin MS, Esler A, et al. Prevalence and Characteristics of Autism Spectrum Disorder Among Children Aged 8 Years - Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, 11 Sites, United States, 2018. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2021;70:1–16. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Constantino JN, Abbacchi AM, Saulnier C, Klaiman C, Mandell DS, Zhang Y, et al. Timing of the Diagnosis of Autism in African American Children. Pediatrics. 2020;146. - PMC - PubMed

Publication types