It’s well known that both parent report and observational measure are crucial to an autism diagnosis.  But what about prior to a diagnosis, in the critical period of 12-18 months when symptoms may be seen but a diagnosis cannot yet be made?  A research collaboration across Canada has been studying better detection and translating it to early intervention, and postdoc Lori Sacrey from University of Alberta took the lead on a multi-site study investigating the utility and contribution of a parent report measure together with an observational tool in toddlers.  She found that the parent report measure provided insights which improved the ability to predict a later autism diagnosis.  It is because of the collaboration across Canada that this research is possible.  Also, the autism journal Autism took an unusual and bold step in ensuring that adults with autism are represented in their perspective.  Hear why on this week’s podcast or read the link below:

http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/1362361317748556 

Here is the Sacrey publication:  https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/29356441