The Performance of the First Year Inventory (FYI) Screening on a Sample of High-Risk 12-Month-Olds Diagnosed with...

Area of Science:

• Developmental Psychology
• Pediatric Medicine
• Clinical Psychology

Background:

• Early identification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is crucial for timely intervention.
• Parent-reported screening tools offer a feasible method for assessing developmental risks in infants.
• Infants with a family history of ASD are at elevated risk.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate the performance of the First Year Inventory (FYI) version 2.0 in a high-risk (HR) infant sample.
• To determine the utility of the FYI 2.0 for identifying infants who will later be diagnosed with ASD.
• To explore potential new cutoff scores for the FYI 2.0 within the HR population.

Main Methods:

• The FYI 2.0 was administered to 86 high-risk infants (older sibling with ASD) and 35 low-risk control infants at 12 months of age.
• Infants were followed up for clinical diagnosis of ASD at 36 months of age.
• Statistical analyses compared FYI 2.0 scores between infants who did and did not develop ASD.

Main Results:

• High-risk infants who were later diagnosed with ASD exhibited significantly higher FYI 2.0 risk scores compared to typically developing infants.
• Elevated scores were observed in both the social-communication and sensory-regulatory domains.
• The study explored optimal cutoff scores for the HR sample, balancing sensitivity and specificity.

Conclusions:

• The FYI 2.0 demonstrates effectiveness as a screening tool for identifying developmental risks associated with ASD in high-risk infants.
• The findings support the use of the FYI 2.0 in early screening protocols for infants with a family history of ASD.
• Further research into refined cutoff scores may enhance the precision of the FYI 2.0 in high-risk populations.