Dear Dr. Samecki,
We are writing in response to your article, “Australia develops ‘world’s most effective’ autism screening tool” and commend your coverage of a very important topic – access to a timely autism diagnosis. Sadly, around the world, many families struggle to access a timely diagnosis for their young children due to cost or lengthy wait times. As you mentioned, the average age of diagnosis in Australia is somewhere between four and six years old. However, receiving a diagnosis of autism at an early age is beneficial for both parents and children because it is associated with access to early childhood intervention and parenting support, both of which have been shown to improve outcomes for children with autism and their families. By contrast, diagnostic delays may leave children and families without access to effective and beneficial early intervention services. We agree with Associate Professor Josephine Barbaro, author of the Social Attention and Communication Surveillance-Revised (SACS-R) screening tool described in the article, that more needs to be done to ensure families can access a timely diagnosis when their children are young and when developmental concerns are first identified. We were very excited to read the recent research demonstrating the accuracy of the SACS-R for detecting autism in a large sample of young children when used by community-based health professionals.
Although recent research shows the SACS-R to be effective for detecting autism in young children, more research may be needed before we can claim that it is the world’s most effective autism screening tool. The research described in the article was conducted with a large sample of Australian children. At this time, it is unclear how effective the tool would be for detecting autism in young children living in different countries, particularly non-English speaking countries. This suggests that the tool should be further tested in different cultural contexts before it can be broadly recommended. Secondly, the SACS-R is a relatively new tool, so more research is needed to determine its accuracy and reliability in screening for autism in larger cohorts of children. Finally, the SACS-R includes a series of developmental questionnaires to be administered by health professionals during routine child check-ups over a period of time. It may be challenging for some families, particularly those in more regional and remote areas, to access these types of ongoing health and developmental check ups. We look forward to reading further research about the efficacy of the SACS-R across countries and when used by different professionals. We also look forward to new research that shows how the use of a tool like the SACS-R helps families not only receive a diagnosis but ensures families can access critical early intervention services in a timely manner, following the diagnosis.
Our mission at the Association for Science in Autism Treatment is to share information about safe, effective, science-based interventions and supports for autism. Early detection and diagnosis of autism are critically important as they may facilitate access to safe and effective early intervention for young children and their families. However, there are currently over 500 marketed interventions for autism, the vast majority of which lack scientific support. This can make it challenging for parents and medical professionals to determine the right course of action following an autism diagnosis. Our website provides useful information for parents and medical professionals, including summaries of the evidence for various autism treatments. We invite you to share this information with your readers to help more families identify effective treatment options for their loved ones following an autism diagnosis.
Sincerely,
Aboli Jadhav, BE
Erin Leif, PhD, BCBA-D
Association for Science in Autism Treatment
