Accuracy of Ages and Stages Questionnaire as a Broad Screening Tool for Autism: Pakistani Population Perspective

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is disorder of behavior which occurs in early life and affects social communication. ASD has a high local prevalence, economic burden, compromised quality of life, and need of population screening by an easy-to-use screening tool and its sensitivity assessment. Current study was conceived to evaluate the accuracy of Ages and Stages Questionnaire-3 (ASQ-3; Squires et al., 2009) as a broadband screening tool to gauge at risk individuals for autism in Pakistan. This cross-sectional comparative study was done at Riphah College of Rehabilitation and Allied Health Sciences Lahore, Pakistan over a period of 6 months from July to December 2021. A sample of 154 children with autism aged 24 and 30 months of both genders were included. Children with any comorbid conditions and developmental speech and language disorders, Cerebral Palsy, Downs Syndrome, or any other conditions were excluded from the study. Basic demographic sheet, ASQ-3, and Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers Revised (MCHAT-R; Robins et al., 2009) were utilized for data collection and the analysis was done utilizing SPSS Version 21. Analysis revealed that ASQ-3 has a sensitivity of 73.70%, specificity of 83.30%, positive predictive value of 83.50%, negative predictive value of 49.20% and an accuracy rate of 75.97%. A significant positive correlation was present between MCHAT-R and ASQ both at 30 months of age and 24 months. Findings showed that ASQ-3 can be used confidently as a broad-based screener for ASD, and hence help in early identification and management of ASD cases by clinicians and researchers.