By U-T San Diego 6 a.m.Jan. 8, 2014
The new Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers is a free, two-step screening tool used to detect children likely to have autism.
Its intended for use at well-child checkups for children 16 to 30 months old, and helps health care providers classify a childs risk of having autism as low, medium or high based on parents answers to 20 questions.
This checklist can more accurately identify children likely to have autism so they can get the treatment and support they need, said Dr. Alice Kau of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the National Institutes of Health institute that funded the study.
Given that the typical diagnosis occurs at age 4, it also offers the possibility of detecting autism much earlier. And earlier intervention has been shown to improve outcomes.
Of the more than 16,000 children evaluated with the tool, 93 percent were considered low-risk, 6 percent were in the medium-risk range and 1 percent were considered high-risk.
The findings appear in Pediatrics. The checklist can be found on the National Institutes of Health website. Scroll down and click on autism screening tool.
Adequate sleep is critical
A recent Gallup poll surveyed Americans on their sleeping habits and found that 59 percent get seven or more hours of sleep at night.
Why is sleep so important? According to the National Institutes of Health:
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Updated test improves identifying autism risks