Pediatria pre prax 3/2024

Management of a child with a suspected autism spectrum disorder or other developmental disorder

Introduction: Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) usually manifests itself in childhood, diagnostic symptoms fully develop between the 12th and 24th months of a child’s life. Targeted screening is important in the management of a child with suspected ASD or another neurodevelopmental disorder. The procedure and screening tools are described in detail in the standard operating procedure (SOP) approved in December 2021 by the Ministry of Health of the Slovak Republic. Several studies have shown that early diagnosis and intervention in ASD are crucial for achieving the development of the child’s potential. Purpose: To describe how and why it is important to carry out screening for ASD in accordance with the SOP and what is the role of pediatricians in this screening. To find out how screening for PAS is actually carried out in practice and to offer opinions and experiences of general practitioners for children. Methods: 110 pediatricians from all over the Slovakia were involved in the survey. We used an online questionnaire, which, in addition to demographic data, sought to inform about the possibilities of ASD screening and its application in pediatrician practice. We processed the obtained data with descriptive statistics. Results: 75% of pediatricians know the basic M-CHAT screening questionnaire, but only 54% use it in practice. Only a small number of them administer it in accordance with the recommendations. Conclusion: Thepresented results point to the low frequency of screening for ASD with the standardized M-CHAT questionnaire in pediatric practice and the need to expand the knowledge of primary care physicians about screening tools as well as the first symptoms of ASD in the first two years of a child’s life.

Keywords: autism spectrum disorder, ASD screening, M-CHAT, early intervention in ASD