Diagnosis

Autism is diagnosed in a variety of ways, using a number of different measures.  (In North America, the DSMIV (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, Fourth Edition).   This is put out by the American Psychiatric Association.  In Europe and other parts of the world, the ICD-10 (International Classification of Deaseses) is commonly used. 

One measure that has particular appeal is the CHAT.

The CHAT is a HIGHLY accurate and elegant autism screening tool for early autismdiagnosis. Research supporting the CHAT is published in the British Journal of Psychiatry (1996, 168, pp. 158-163; 1992, 161, pp. 839-843).   These studies have found that the CHAT is 85% accurate in diagnosing children with autism and 100% accurate in diagnosing a developmental delay in general. 

This important tool can be given to primary care physicians and pediatricians who see young children first and are the entry point into the health care system for infants and toddlers. The earlier they can confirm a diagnosis of autism, the more effectivebehavioural treatment is likely to be.  Physicians can use the CHAT on children 18 months of age or older.

If you would like a copy of the CHAT, click below:

DownloadDownload C.H.A.T.(2 pages plus 6 pages appendices, only 25k, Adobe Acrobat PDF file)

If you would like to read the peer-reviewed articles which the CHAT is based upon, click here:
ac708.gif (158 bytes)http://php.iupui.edu/~rallen/chat.html
ac708.gif (158 bytes)http://php.iupui.edu/~rallen/chat2.html