There’s so much to love about technology, like its convenience, reliability and generally making tasks easier. Now it is helping parents identify autism early! As my friends’ resident autism informer, many have come to me with questions and concerns about autism for their children. Now, I cannot give a diagnosis of any sort, but I could help them chat over the differences that they’ve noticed and make a plan. Sometimes, I could allay fears, and other times, my opinion has been to see a medical practitioner. The good news is, now I can help my friends and others in the early stages by using the research-backed app: ASDetect.
Autism is becoming more prevalent in the population with around 1 in 50 people identified as being Autistic. ASDetect is an app that was developed through La Trobe University in the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre. Through 10 years of research this app has been created by Dr Josephine Barbaro using the Social Attention and Communication (SACS) method that identifies “red flags” such as: inconsistency of eye contact, pointing or lack of pretend play, among others that are distinctive for autistic children from about 12 months old. Though Restrictive Repetitive Behaviours are included in the diagnosis of Autism, this is often not a strong predictor of autism as young neurotypical children will also engage in some of these behaviours, such as lining toys up, hand flapping, etc. Importantly, the app may be able to help establish the early signs of autism within girls prior to masking when they are influenced by their sociality. The research has identified that the SACS method that ASDectect is based off of is 83% accurate with predicting whether a child will be identified as having Autism by 24 months and is 96% accurate at identification by 3.5 years old.
The SACS and ASDetect are formulated from a “developmental surveillance” system, meaning that there is more than one check-in over time to monitor symptoms. ASDetect will prompt users to check in and continue this surveillance so that early detection can be done.
As a practitioner, I have taken a few children through the app, BUT if you are wondering about a diagnosis, you can be guided through an assessment from home for ages 11 to 30 months. This early identification is imperative so that your child can get the supports they need and helps parents reduce stress by seeking help. The app will give you a scale of low to high likelihood of autism at the end of the assessment which you can then share with your GP, if needed.
Have you used the app? Was it helpful/easy to use? Let us know!
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