Usually, the term ‘screening’ is used for a test/tool that is used for people with no suspicion of a condition to detect the possibility of that condition. Here, under the heading of screening, some tests/tools are being described that may help a practitioner decide whether or not to refer a child, who may be presenting with developmental concerns, for a detailed assessment of autism. These tests are not a substitute for a clinical assessment and their scores must not be used to establish a diagnosis.
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Q-CHAT[i]
This is a brief tool, based on replies by parents to brief questions. It can be used with minimal training for children of developmental age between 18 to 24 months. It can help provide a way of deciding who should be referred further for a detailed assessment. A PDF (English) can be obtained from http://docs.autismresearchcentre.com/tests/QCHAT-10.pdf ; the English and Hindi (from the Hindi page) PDF versions can also be downloaded from the PDF button:
2. M-CHAT[ii]
This is a bit more detailed tool with two step process of asking questions from parents and making some observations for children of developmental age between 16 to 30 months. It can also help provide a way of deciding who should be referred further for a detailed assessment. A PDF of M-Chat can be obtained from https://www.m-chat.org/_references/mchatdotorg.pdf
3. AQ-10 (child)
This tool is similar to Q-CHAT and is for use for children between 4 to 11 years. It can be downloaded from https://www.autismresearchcentre.com/arc_tests . You can also download a PDF from here
4. AQ-10 (Adolescent)
This tool is also similar to Q-CHAT and is for use for children between 12 to 15 years. It can be downloaded from https://www.autismresearchcentre.com/tests/ . You can also download a PDF from here
[i] Allison, C., Baron-Cohen, S., Wheelwright, S., Charman, T., Richler, J., Pasco, G., & Brayne, C. (2008). The Q-CHAT (Quantitative CHecklist for Autism in Toddlers): a normally distributed quantitative measure of autistic traits at 18–24 months of age: preliminary report. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 38(8), 1414-1425.
[ii] Robins, D. L., Fein, D., Barton, M. L., & Green, J. A. (2001). The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers: an initial study investigating the early detection of autism and pervasive developmental disorders. Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 31(2), 131-144.
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