Practice parameter: Screening and diagnosis of autism - Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society

Autism is a common disorder of childhood, affecting 1 in 500 children. Yet, it often remains unrecognized and undiagnosed until or after late preschoo l age because appropriate tools for routine developmental screening and scr eening specifically for autism have not been available. Early identificatio n of children with autism and intensive, early intervention during the todd ler and preschool years improves outcome for most young children with autis m. This practice parameter reviews the available empirical evidence and giv es specific recommendations for the identification of children with autism. This approach requires a dual process: 1) routine developmental surveillan ce and screening specifically for autism to be performed on all children to first identify those at risk for any type of atypical development, and to identify those specifically at risk for autism; and 2) to diagnose and eval uate autism, to differentiate autism from other developmental disorders.