The screening and diagnosis of autistic spectrum disorders

The Child Neurology Society and American Academy of Neurology recently prop osed to formulate Practice Parameters for the Diagnosis and Evaluation of A utism for their memberships. This endeavor was expanded to include represen tatives from nine professional organizations and four parent organizations, with liaisons from the National Institutes of Health. This document was wr itten by this multidisciplinary Consensus Panel after systematic analysis o f over 2,500 relevant scientific articles in the literature. The Panel conc luded that appropriate diagnosis of autism requires a dual-level approach: (a) routine developmental surveillance, and (b) diagnosis and evaluation of autism. Specific detailed recommendations for each level have been establi shed in this document, which are intended to improve the rate of early susp icion and diagnosis of, and therefore early intervention for, autism.