Standardized Screening Facilitates Timely Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders in a Diverse Sample of Low-Risk Toddlers
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OBJECTIVE: Routine, standardized screening for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has been hypothesized to reduce known racial/ethnic and socioeconomic status (SES) disparities in age of first diagnosis. This study explored demographic differences in toddlers' age and performance on developmental measures at the time of ASD assessment. METHOD: Toddlers (16-39 months at evaluation) who screened at-risk for developmental delay on the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) or M-CHAT-Revised (M-CHAT-R) and follow-up interview participated in a diagnostic assessment. Of these, 44.7% were racial/ethnic minorities and 53.5% were non-minorities. Child race/ethnicity, years of maternal education (MEd), and household yearly income (YI) were parent-reported. RESULTS: Small but significant correlations were observed between MEd or YI and evaluation age and adaptive communication, socialization, and motor scores. Controlling for MEd and YI, minority racial/ethnic group did not predict child's performance on most measures and did not predict likelihood of ASD diagnosis. Differences in age at evaluation and receptive language skills were small effects. CONCLUSION: Significant but small effects emerged for SES and minority status on toddlers' age at evaluation and parent-reported adaptive skills, but these did not predict ASD diagnosis. The small magnitude of these effects suggests that routine, standardized screening for ASD in toddlers and timely access to diagnostic evaluation can reduce disparities in age at diagnosis and possibly reduce racial/ethnic disparities in access to services for ASD and other developmental delays.
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Universal early autism-specific screening can reduce racial/ethnic and socioeconomic disparities in autism detection.
“reduce racial/ethnic and socioeconomical disparities in autism detection (L. E. Herlihy et al., 2014).”
From Navigating the Challenges: A Commentary on Barriers to Autism Screening in Childcare Centers (2026) · cites this paper as L. E. Herlihy et al., 2014
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Self-citation
- Authors
- Herlihy, L. E., Brooks, B., Dumont-Mathieu, T., Barton, M. L., Fein, D., Chen, C.-M., & Robins, D. L.
- Affiliations
- University of Connecticut (US)
- Georgia State University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Herlihy, Lauren E.
- Dumont-Mathieu, Thyde
- Barton, Marianne L.
- Fein, Deborah
- Chen, Chi-Ming
- ORCID
- Venue
- Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics
- Published
- 2014-02
- Volume
- 35
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 85-92
- ISSN
- 0196-206X (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC4388145
- OpenAlex
- W1969070314
- Cited by
- 70
- References
- 22
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2022: 6 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 11 · 2018: 9 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 4 · 2013: 1
- FWCI
- 3.16
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Journal of Developmental & Behavioral Pediatrics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- University of Connecticut
- Georgia State University
- National Institutes of Health
- U.S. Public Health Service (R40 MC00270)
- National Institute of Mental Health (F31MH12550, F31MH012550)
- Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (R01HD039961, HD39961)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
- Health Sciences › Medicine › Psychiatry and Mental health › Child Nutrition and Feeding Issues
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Family and Disability Support Research
- Keywords
- autism spectrum disorder, autism screening, toddlers, age at diagnosis, racial and ethnic disparities, socioeconomic status, developmental delay, M-CHAT, adaptive communication, socialization, motor skills, receptive language, access to diagnostic services
- MeSH terms
- Developmental Disabilities, Child Development Disorders, Pervasive, Child, Preschool, Educational Status, Female, Humans, Income, Infant, Male, Mass Screening, Minority Groups, Psychiatric Status Rating Scales, Risk, Social Class, Checklist
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