Authors: Susan L Hepburn Carolyn DiGuiseppi Steven Rosenberg Kristina Kaparich Cordelia Robinson Lisa Miller
Publish Date: 2007/07/28
Volume: 38, Issue: 2, Pages: 373-382
Abstract
Given a rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorders ASD this project aimed to develop and pilot test various teacher nomination strategies to identify children at risk for ASD in a timely reliable costeffective manner Sixty participating elementary school teachers evaluated 1323 children in total Each teacher nominated students who most fit a description of ASDassociated characteristics and completed the Autism Syndrome Screening Questionnaire ASSQ on every child in the classroom The proportion of overall agreement between teacher nomination and ASSQ was 93–95 depending upon the nomination parameters Nomination required 15 min per class versus 35–55 h per class for the ASSQ These results support the need for further study of teacher nomination strategies to identify children at risk for ASDFunding for this study was provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention Colorado Center for Autism and Developmental Disabilities Research and Epidemiology PI = Lisa Miller Cordelia Robinson Grant No UI0/CCU820391 We thank Andria Ratchford and Katherine Baldwin who assisted with initial study development Lori Baker and Kit Hovey who played vital roles in implementing the study and Judy Reaven who assisted with pilot testing We gratefully acknowledge Ed Steinberg Dixie Periman David Livingston and the principals teachers and administrative staff of Cherry Creek School District who participated in the study
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