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The Caregiver Reported Autistic Symptoms in Preschool Children: Findings of Chandigarh Autism Screening Instrument
Jaison Joseph1, Komal Hooda1, Indu Chauhan1
1College of Nursing, Pt. B. D. Sharma University of Health Sciences, Rohtak, India.
Insights
The Chandigarh Autism Screening Instrument (CASI) and its shorter version (CASI Bref) show promise for screening autistic symptoms in North Indian preschool children. CASI Bref is an efficient tool for identifying autistic traits, though the full CASI requires further validation.
Area of Science:
- Child Psychology
- Neurodevelopmental Disorders
- Screening Tools
Background:
- Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder detectable through early screening.
- The Chandigarh Autism Screening Instrument (CASI) is a new tool for Hindi-speaking North Indian children (1.5-10 years).
- Early detection of autistic symptoms is crucial for timely intervention.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate caregiver-reported autistic symptoms in preschool children (3-6 years) using the CASI.
- To assess the utility of CASI and the Social and Communication Disorders Checklist (SCDC-Hindi) in a school setting.
- To explore the association of demographic factors with autistic symptoms.
Main Methods:
- A cross-sectional study involving 225 caregivers of children aged 3-6 years in Rohtak.
- Utilized CASI and SCDC-Hindi for measuring autistic symptoms.
- Assessed socioeconomic status using the modified Kuppuswamy scale.
Main Results:
- Autistic symptoms prevalence ranged from 2.2% to 18.7% based on CASI and SCDC cutoff scores.
- The four-item CASI Bref emerged as a significant predictor of autistic symptoms.
- No significant association was found between children's gender, age, or socioeconomic status and autistic symptoms.
Conclusions:
- The CASI demonstrates preliminary efficacy for screening autistic symptoms in preschool children.
- CASI Bref offers an efficient, quick screening method for autistic traits.
- Further validation of the full CASI against age-appropriate tools is recommended.
Abstract:
Background Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder and can be early detected with the aid of screening tools. Chandigarh autism screening instrument (CASI) is a newly developed tool to screen autistic symptoms among children aged between 1.5 to 10 years in the north Indian Hindi speaking population. Objective In this study, we evaluated the caregiver report of autistic symptoms in preschool children (3-6 years) attending selected schools of Rohtak. Materials and Methods The index study was conducted among 225 caregivers of school-going children aged between 3 to 6 years. Social and communication disorders checklist (SCDC-Hindi) and CASI was used to measure autistic symptoms. The modified Kuppuswamy scale was used for assessing the socioeconomic status of the caregivers. Results The autistic symptoms varied from 2.2 to 18.7%, depending upon the CASI (cutoff score of 10) and SCDC (cutoff score of 9) measurements. The items in the shorter four-item version (CASI Bref) of CASI were found to be the predictors of autistic symptoms in this population. Children's gender, age, and socioeconomic status were not found to have any association with autistic symptoms in this setting. Conclusion The study provides preliminary evidence in relation to the CASI-linked screening for autistic symptoms among preschool children. The shorter version of CASI (CASI Bref) can be an efficient quick screener for autistic traits, but the full version of CASI needs to be validated as per age-appropriate autism screening tools.
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