Outcomes of Autism Spectrum Disorder Screening and Follow-Up Program in A Sample of Turkey

Background: The mean age of diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) was not at the desired level yet. Early diagnosis is one of the most decisive factor on prognosis. Therefore, various screening programs are implemented in different countries to provide early diagnosis. ASD screening and followup programs are implemented in all provinces in Turkey as a part of the National Action Plan for Individuals with ASD. The purpose of the study is to assess the outcomes of patients referred in one year by primary health care professionals who received an autism training program. Methods: Of the 18,678 children aged 18-36 months who were screened by family physicians with a 5-question screening scale for one year, 320 children who were found to be at risk for ASD were evaluated. In addition to psychiatric examination, developmental assessment and Childhood Autism Rating Scale results were reviewed retrospectively. Results: Two hundred sixty-four out of 320 risky children were evaluated by the child and adolescent psychiatrist. Ninety-four were diagnosed with ASD. The most frequent diagnoses that follow were language disorder and intellectual disability. While 6.8% of the referred patients (n=18) were subjects who had received ASD diagnosis previously, 77 subjects received ASD diagnosis for the first time. It can be seen that as the markings in the screening form as risky increased, the rate of being diagnosed with ASD also increases. The positive predictive value of the 5-question screening form was 35.6%. Conclusions: This program enables the diagnosis of ASD at an early age during community-based screening. We believe that the most important advantage of the program is that it can be implemented quickly and easily by family physicians.