Prot
05-12-2009, 06:46 PM
Researchers have come up with a relatively simple tool that could be the answer to many clinicians' wish for a practical screen for autism in very young children. Called the Systematic Observation of Red Flags (SORF), the instrument distinguishes between 18- to 24-month-olds with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and those with either developmental delays or who are healthy, normal children.
A study presented here at the 8th Annual International Meeting for Autism Research indicates that children who have at least eight of the 20 "red flags" in SORF have a high probability of having autism.
In 2007, members of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Council on Children With Disabilities called for pediatricians to systematically screen all infants for ASDs at 18 and 24 months of age (Johnson CP et al. Pediatrics. 2007;120:1183-1215).
However, there were no reliable physician-administered tools for ASD screening of the general infant population; the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) and the Infant-Toddler Checklist (ITC) are usually relied upon for first-line, parent-reported screening. The SORF could help fill that gap, notes Geri Dawson, PhD, chief scientific officer for Autism Speaks.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/702626
A study presented here at the 8th Annual International Meeting for Autism Research indicates that children who have at least eight of the 20 "red flags" in SORF have a high probability of having autism.
In 2007, members of the American Academy of Pediatrics' Council on Children With Disabilities called for pediatricians to systematically screen all infants for ASDs at 18 and 24 months of age (Johnson CP et al. Pediatrics. 2007;120:1183-1215).
However, there were no reliable physician-administered tools for ASD screening of the general infant population; the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) and the Infant-Toddler Checklist (ITC) are usually relied upon for first-line, parent-reported screening. The SORF could help fill that gap, notes Geri Dawson, PhD, chief scientific officer for Autism Speaks.
http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/702626