234635 Autism Screening in Community Childcare Settings

Wednesday, November 2, 2011: 10:30 AM

Patricia Wright, PhD, MPH , Program Services, Easter Seals, Inc., Chicago, IL
Jessica Foster, MD, MPH , Developmental Behavioral Pediatrics, Nationwide Childrens Hospital, Columbus, OH
Georgina Peacock, MD, MPH , National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities, CDC, Atlanta, GA
This session will share data from a completed pilot study utilizing community childcare settings for autism screening. Implementation of the screening process, rate of return and social validity information from the childcare workers whom implemented the screening will be presented. The current recommendation is for autism screening to be completed for all children beginning at age 18 months (Johnson & Myers, 2007). This screening is to be completed during regularly scheduled visits with the pediatrician. Currently 8% of pediatricians screen for autism at an average age of 48 months (Wiggins, Baio & Rice, 2006, Dosreis, Weiner, & Newschaffer, 2008). In addition to this disturbing data 32% of children who are screened positive for autism by a pediatrician do not pursue additional clinical evaluation as recommended (Dietz, Swinkels, Van Daalen, Van Engeland & Buitelaar, 2007). The screening process for autism must be improved. More than 8 million children under the age of five are enrolled in licensed child care settings in the United States (US Census, 2005). These settings may provide an excellent opportunity to provide autism screening. Autism screening can be easily completed via a parental report with an empirically validated screening tool (Robins, Fien, & Barton, 1999). Given the current prevalence of autism, screening for this disability within childcare settings may be plausible.

Learning Areas:
Public health or related research

Learning Objectives:
Participants will be able to list the current autism screening outcome data Participants will be able to describe the outcome data from a pilot study utilziing community childcare settings .for autism screening

Keywords: Disability, Screening

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Qualified on the content I am responsible for because: I currently provide support to a social service organization providing support thousands of individuals with autism and committed to providing the earliest intervention possible which includes screening as early as possible.
Any relevant financial relationships? No

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.