What Happens After Autism Screening-Factors That Predict Evaluation Attendance

Area of Science:

• Developmental Pediatrics
• Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
• Public Health

Background:

• Early identification of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is crucial for intervention.
• Despite effective screening tools, many families do not attend diagnostic evaluations after a positive screen.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate factors influencing autism evaluation attendance following a positive screening result.
• To identify demographic and screening-related predictors of evaluation attendance.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of 895 children from two primary care autism screening studies.
• Exploration of attendance differences based on child sex, race, ethnicity, maternal education, and age at screening.
• Comparison of screening scores between children who attended and those who declined evaluation.

Main Results:

• Evaluation attendance varied significantly between studies but not by child demographics (sex, race, ethnicity, maternal education).
• Age at first positive screen predicted attendance: 18 months (57%) showed higher attendance than 12 months (38%) or 15 months (30%).
• Children attending evaluations had higher screening scores indicative of more autism characteristics.

Conclusions:

• Screening-related factors, particularly age at screening, play a significant role in families' decisions to attend evaluations.
• Child demographics appear to have a less significant impact on evaluation attendance compared to screening timing.