Preliminary Validation and Feasibility of the Autism Detection in Early Childhood-Virtual (ADEC-V) for Autism Telehealth Evaluations in a Hospital Setting.

The study only included children who had already been referred for autism assessment due to developmental concerns, so the results do not apply to general screening of typically developing children. The sample was drawn from a single hospital site, which may limit how well the results apply to other clinical settings. The study did not collect data from parents or clinicians on the feasibility or acceptability of the telehealth administration process. Direct standardized developmental testing could not be completed due to telehealth restrictions, so cognitive level was estimated via parent report. The age range was expanded to 47 months, but the tool was originally designed for children up to 3 years, and scores were slightly negatively correlated with age, suggesting caution for older toddlers.

The authors declared no conflicts of interest. The study was approved by the hospital's internal review board.

Do not use the ADEC-V as a standalone diagnostic tool. The study found that while it has good accuracy, its specificity drops significantly at the lower cutoff score, and it was designed to be used as part of a comprehensive evaluation that includes caregiver interviews like the ADI-R.