Parent and clinician agreement regarding early behavioral signs in 12- and 18-month-old infants at-risk of autism spectrum disorder.

Abstract

Parents of children at high-risk of autism spectrum disorder (ASD; have an older sibling with ASD) and clinicians were compared on their reporting of 19 early signs of autism. Direct comparison of parent and clinician ratings showed poor agreement on all early behavioral signs, with parent-reported symptoms being better able to differentiate between children with and without ASD at both 12 and 18 months of age compared to clinician observations during a brief office visit. This suggests that parents may have important information regarding early development of their high-risk child.