Research Study on the Effectiveness of Screening Tools in Detecting Autism in Children

Researchers at Texas Christian University are conducting a research study on the effectiveness of screening tools in detecting autism spectrum disorders in children.

Researchers are seeking parents or caregivers of children between the ages of five and eleven whose children have received a formal ADOS score. Participation will take no more than 10 minutes and will involve filling out a short survey.

Participation is completely voluntary, and data will be deidentified and stored on locked computers at TCU.

Descriptive statistics of all variables will be calculated to determine means, standard deviations, and range. A correlation matrix will be generated to determine associations among all variables. Pearson chi-squared tests will be used to assess sex and ADOS score. Linear regression will be used to determine if sex could predict a participant’s ADOS score.

Results should indicate that the CAST scores are less likely to be elevated in individuals with ASD compared to their ADOS scores. Specifically in female participants, their CAST scores should be significantly less likely to indicate potential ASD compared to male participants.

For questions or more information, contact Dr. Phil Esposito at p.esposito@tcu.edu or call 817.2576866.

Participate in the Survey

Autism New Jersey strongly recommends reviewing the following information prior to participating in any research study:

For more information and a comprehensive list of potential benefits and risks of participating, please contact the investigators. For helpful information on being an informed research participant, please visit the Organization for Autism Research’s (OAR) Parent’s Guide to Research. Appendix B provides a list of questions to ask prior to participation and overviews your rights as a research participant.