A systematic review of technological approaches for autism spectrum disorder assessment in children: Implications for the COVID-19 pandemic.
Angela V Dahiya, Elizabeth DeLucia, Christina G McDonnell and 1 others
PMID 33465590WHAT IT FOUND
Phone, web, live video, and recorded video tools showed variable accuracy for ASD assessment in children.
Many were tested in small clinic samples, so they are not ready to replace in-person evaluation.
Key findings
01The review included 16 studies and 1584 children aged 18 months to 12 years, and the included studies involved participants suspected of having ASD.
02In a randomized comparison, live video assessment and in-person assessment showed no significant differences on ADOS and ADI-R scores, with nearly 100% diagnostic agreement on 20 of 21 participants.
03A phone interview tool based on ADI-R items reported verbal algorithm sensitivity .87 and specificity .62, while the MARA screening tool reported sensitivity 89.9% and specificity 79.7%.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for SLPs
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What it does not show
Many included studies had small samples, so results may not generalize to broader populations. Most studies focused on younger children, so there is less evidence for older children in the 0-12 age range. Several tele-assessment studies were conducted in clinics with standard materials, not in homes, so at-home remote use is uncertain. Standardized assessments such as the ADOS-2 cannot be administered remotely. Demographic reporting was uneven: three studies did not report ethnicity breakdowns, and many reported primarily White participants.
Declared interests
The paper states that this research did not receive any specific grant from funding agencies in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude from this review that remote tools can replace in-person ASD diagnosis. The included studies were mostly small, focused on younger children, and often tested in clinics with standard materials, so at-home remote accuracy remains unproven.