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Symptoms : Screening for Asperger Syndrome in primary schools
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Posted by Sylvia on Tuesday, December 16, 2003 (13:05:24)
Currently, AS is picked up far too late. It should be possible to identify AS in children in primary school (age 5-11). The Autism Research Centre have developed a screening instrument for this purpose, called the CAST (Childhood Asperger Screening Test) and are testing it at a population level.
The CAST (Childhood Asperger Syndrome Test) : Preliminary development of UK screen for mainstream primary-school children has been developed by F. Scott, S. Baron-Cohen, P. Bolton and C. Brayne from the Autism Research Centre.
Click here to download CAST
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Read More... | 5 comments |   |
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Symptoms : POSSIBLE SPECIFIC SYMPTOMS FOR AUTISM
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Posted by Sylvia on Sunday, November 23, 2003 (14:35:48)
In the past (and even now), parents were usually told to wait until a child is three before a diagnosis is made. This is unacceptably late. Parents of children with autism can tell you that this wait is usually not beneficial for anyone especially the child. Precious time is lost during this early and critical period. Most early interventionists now agree that intervention should begin as early as possible even at eighteen months.
The Checklist for Autism in Toddlers or the CHAT was designed for use with children as young as 18 months old. Designed in the United Kingdom, researchers took a sample of 10,000 children and found some early predictors for autism. These are:
A lack of pretend play � where toddler is unable to play;
A lack of pointing � children usually point to indicate what they want, toddlers with autism, or signs of, tend not to point but will use an adult�s hand instead;
A lack of social interest � not interested or not aware of events happening around him or her;
A lack of social play � does not seem interested in playing with other children or other siblings;
A lack of joint-attention � will not show parents something or a toy of interest to them.
Some other possible signs and symptoms taken from The Importance of Early Diagnosis in Autism published by Autism Society Ontario for newborns to eighteen month olds with autism are:
1. At 18 months, an infant with autism may:
Be late to smile or not smile;
Not demonstrate attachment behaviour especially to his/her primary caregiver;
Avoid people�s gaze;
Not reach out, even in anticipation of being picked up;
Not seek comforting or may be difficult to soothe;
Prefer to be alone;
Not cuddle;
Exhibit simple repeated actions with their body, such as flapping their hands or rocking;
Exhibit simple repeated action with objects, such as spinning the wheels of a toy car;
Have an intense dislike of any changes in routines or the surroundings, such as changes in the arrangement of the room;
Show a lack of nonverbal communication:
No gestures to communicate
No response to body language
Not copying facial expressions or gestures, such as pointing, clapping or waving
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Read More... (3.28 KB) | 5 comments | |
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Symptoms : Checklist for Autism in Toddlers - CHAT
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Posted by Sylvia on Sunday, November 23, 2003 (14:12:41)
by Sally Wheelwright, University of Cambridge
What is the CHAT?
The CHecklist for Autism in Toddlers is a short questionnaire which is filled out by the parents and a primary health care worker at the 18 month developmental check up. It aims to identify children who are risk for social-communication disorders.
How is the CHAT administered?
The CHAT can be found below. It consists of two sections: the first nine items are questions asked to the parents, and the last five items are observations made by the primary health care worker.
The key items look at behaviours which, if absent at 18 months, put a child at risk for a social-communication disorder. These behaviours are (a) joint attention, including pointing to show and gaze-monitoring (e.g. looking to where a parent is pointing), and (b) pretend play (e.g. pretending to pour tea from a toy teapot).
How is the CHAT scored?
SECTION A: ASK PARENT:
1. Does your child enjoy being swung, bounced on your knee, etc? YES NO
2. Does your child take an interest in other children? YES NO
3. Does your child like climbing on things, such as up stairs? YES NO
4. Does your child enjoy playing peek-a-boo/hide-and-seek? YES NO
5. Does your child ever PRETEND, for example, to make a cup of tea using a toy cup and teapot, or pretend other things? YES NO
6. Does your child ever use his/her index finger to point, to ASK for something? YES NO
7. Does your child ever use his/her index finger to point, to indicate INTEREST in something? YES NO
8. Can your child play properly with small toys (e.g. cars or bricks) without just mouthing, fiddling or dropping them? YES NO
9. Does your child ever bring objects over to you (parent) to SHOW you something? YES NO
SECTION B: GP OR HV OBSERVATION:
i. During the appointment, has the child made eye contact with you? YES NO
ii. Get child's attention, then point across the room at an interesting object and say 'Oh look! There's a (name of toy!' Watch child's face. Does the child look across to see what you are pointing at? YES NO*
iii. Get the child's attention, then give child a miniature toy cup and teapot and say 'Can you make a cup of tea? ' Does the child pretend to pour out tea, drink it, etc.? YES NO**
iv. Say to the child 'Where's the light?', or 'Show me the light'. Does the child POINT with his/her index finger at the light? YES NO***
v. Can the child build a tower of bricks? (If so how many?)
(Number of bricks:.............) YES NO
* (To record YES on this item, ensure the child has not simply looked at your hand, but has actually looked at the object you are pointing at.)
** (If you can elicit an example of pretending in some other game, score a YES on this item.)
*** (Repeat this with 'Where's the teddy?' or some other unreachable object, if child does not understand the word 'light'. To record YES on this item, the child must have looked up at your face around the time of pointing.)
for more info on CHAT click here
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Read More... | 5 comments | |
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