EARLY DETECTION OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER AMONG 2-6 YEAR OLD CHILDREN BY COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

Babu George; Prasanna GL; Leena ML; Liss Maria Scaria

Volume : VIII, Issue : IV, April - 2018

EARLY DETECTION OF AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER AMONG 2-6 YEAR OLD CHILDREN BY COMMUNITY HEALTH WORKERS

Babu George, Prasanna Gl, Leena Ml, Liss Maria Scaria

Abstract :

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder and early identification of ASD is a crucial aspect in early intervention. This study was done to assess the feasibility of screening ASD among 2–6 year old children by trained Anganwadi workers.All children between the ages of 2– 6 yrs residing in the ICDS Urban – I project area were screened for ASD using the tool Trivandrum Autism Behavior Checklist (TABC). A total of 7394 children were screened by Anganwadi workersand 48 children were found to be positive. All screen positives were further evaluated by a trained developmental therapist and 14 children were confirmed as having ASD.Prevalence of ASD in this study was 1.8 per 1000 children and the male female ratio of ASD was found to be 4:1, which was similar to the findings from other reports. Early identification of autism among children using simple screening tools like TABCby trained community health workers was found to be a feasible strategy.