Fast Five Quiz: Autism Spectrum Disorder

Stephen Soreff, MD

Disclosures

July 05, 2019

The AAP recommends that all children with language delays, including those with suspected ASD, should undergo an audiologic evaluation, even if neonatal screening results were normal. This may be difficult because children with ASD are frequently uncooperative during behavioral audiometry. Auditory brainstem response or brainstem auditory evoked-response testing may be alternatives. This is important because a child may seem unresponsive to many of the normal verbal cues owing to hearing impairment.

The AAP recommends screening all children for ASD at the 18-month preventive care visit. Repeat screening should be performed at age 24 months to help identify children who may regress after age 18 months.

Although various general developmental screening tools are available, these do not differentiate children with ASD from those with other developmental disorders. Tools designed to screen specifically for ASD have not yet been validated in children younger than 18 months. Screening tools are more likely to be overinclusive than underinclusive; thus, children with similar conditions may have positive screening results for ASD.

Read more about ASD screening.

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