Study protocol for an evaluation of ASDetect - a Mobile application for the early detection of autism

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

About the autistic author marker

Barbaro, J. & Yaari, M. (2020). Study protocol for an evaluation of ASDetect - a Mobile application for the early detection of autism. BMC Pediatrics, 20(1), 21-21. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12887-019-1888-6

Publication date: 17 Jan 2020 Added to AutiHub: 7 Sep 2026 Type: Article Article language: English

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Authors

Publication authors
2
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 2 (50.0%)

Abstract

Abstract Background Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC) can be reliably diagnosed by 24 months of age. However, despite the well-known benefits of early intervention, there is still a research-practice gap in the timely identification of ASC, particularly in low-resourced settings. The Social Attention and Communication Surveillance (SACS) tool, which assesses behavioural markers of autism between 12 to 24 months of age, has been implemented in Maternal and Child Health (MCH) settings, with excellent psychometric properties. ASDetect is a free mobile application based on the SACS, which is designed to meet the need for an effective, evidence-based tool for parents, to learn about children’s early social-communication development and assess their child’s ‘likelihood’ for ASC. Study aims The primary aim of this study is to evaluate the psychometric properties of ASDetect in the early detection of children with ASC. A secondary aim is to assess ASDetect’s acceptability and parental user experience with the application. Methods Families are recruited to download the application and participate in the study via social media, health professionals (e.g., MCH nurses, paediatricians) and word of mouth. All participating caregivers complete a demographic questionnaire, survey regarding their user experience, and the Social Responsiveness Scale-2 (SRS-2), an autism screening questionnaire; they are also invited to participate in focus groups. Children identified at ‘high likelihood’ for ASC based on the ASDetect results, the SRS-2 or parental and/or professional concerns undergo a formal, gold-standard, diagnostic assessment. Receiver Operating Characteristic analyses will be used to assess psychometric properties of ASDetect. Thematic analyses will be used to explore themes arising in the focus groups to provide insights regarding user experiences with the app. Multiple regression analyses will be carried out to determine the extent to which demographic factors, parental stress and beliefs on health surveillance and child results on ASDetect are associated with the parental user-experience of the application. Discussion With a strong evidence-base and global access, ASDetect has the potential to empower parents by providing them with knowledge of their child’s social-communication development, validating and reassuring any parental concerns, and supporting them in communicating with other health professionals, ultimately enhancing child and family outcomes and well-being.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 12 Sep 2026 18:18.

Cited references
68
With a DOI
53
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
13
15 / 68 (22.1%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
11 / 68 (16.2%)
References with detected author names
58 / 68 (85.3%)
Without detected author names
10
Without a structured title
11
Without a stable identifier
13
References with raw author names still to review
9
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
289
From DOI or external metadata
289
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
34
111 / 289 (38.4%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 178 / 289 (61.6%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
18 / 289 (6.2%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 18 / 111 (16.2%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 5 / 216 (2.3%).
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