TABLE 2.

Consensus Statements on Early Screening of ASD

No.	Statement	Key Messages
1.	Evidence supports the usefulness of ASD-specific screening at age 18 and 24 mo	• Evidence supporting this statement is summarized in Table 1 of the article by Zwaigenbaum et al 17 on early screening.
		• ASD screening before age 24 mo may be associated with higher false-positive rates than screening at age ≥24 mo
		• Broadband screening in children aged <24 mo can also assist in early detection of ASD
2.	Siblings of children with ASD are at elevated risk for ASD and other developmental disorders and thus should receive intensified surveillance	• With risk of ASD as high as 18%, 4 and of milder symptoms and/or developmental delays at ≥15%, 16 siblings of children with ASD are high-risk group
3.	Children identified through ASD-specific screening should be immediately referred for diagnostic evaluation and appropriate intervention	• The potential benefits of a positive screen will be realized only if followed by consistent referral and timely access to specialized assessment and intervention services
4.	The long-term stability of ASD diagnosis in children ≥24 mo of age is well established	• Evidence supporting this statement is summarized in Table 2 of the article by Zwaigenbaum et al 17
		• Emerging data suggest that ASD diagnoses before 24 mo of age are stable, although further research is needed, particularly involving children identified via early screening
5.	Barriers to ASD-specific screening in the health care system need to be identified and removed to facilitate rapid diagnosis and early intervention	• Reported barriers include insufficient time and/or reimbursement and other logistic challenges (eg, disruption of work flow, lack of office-based systems for making referrals)
		• Health care provider beliefs regarding the potential benefits and risks can also influence participation in screening programs
6.	Methodologically rigorous research in ASD-specific screening should be a high priority	• Recommendations for future research include applying current screens in large diverse community samples to maximize generalizability, assessing clinically relevant outcomes (eg, age of diagnosis), follow-up of both screen-positive and screen-negative children, and more detailed sample characterization to better understand what factors may influence accuracy of screening
7.	There are several additional priorities for future ASD screening research	• Considerations for future research also include incorporating combined broadband and ASD-specific screening, randomized designs, repeat screening, use of technology, biomarkers, and examining factors that may influence screening uptake and outcomes.