Designed for parents and caregivers of children aged 11 to 30 months, ASDetect is based on research conducted at the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre at La Trobe University, Australia. The autism surveillance method developed in this research is 83% accurate, which is more than 13 times more accurate than the next best tool. Available in English, Mandarin Chinese, and Spanish.
The evidence underpinning ASDetect is drawn from research undertaken by Dr Josephine Barbaro, PhD, who is program leader for the early detection and diagnosis of autism at the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre at La Trobe University, Melbourne, Australia.
During the Social Attention and Communication Study (SACS), Dr Barbaro trained 350 Maternal and Child Health nurses to monitor the social attention and communication behaviours of more than 30,000 children aged 12 to 24 months of age, across two large scale studies beginning in 2007.
In these studies, 81% of children who were identified as having a high likelihood for autism by Maternal and Child Health nurses, did in fact have autism. Early identification of children with a high likelihood of autism means that parents and caregivers have the best chance of helping their child to reach their full potential.
“All typically developing babies are pre-wired to be social, look at other people’s faces, learn from them and copy what they’re doing. Children with autism are not doing this – and we can now accurately identify this at a much younger age and take action,” Dr Barbaro said.
Through this comprehensive study, Dr Barbaro has developed an accurate set of ‘red flag’ markers of ASD, which form the basis of the assessments in ASDetect. These ‘red flags’ relate to the following behaviours in young children:
The complete academic papers by Dr Josephine Barbaro and Professor Cheryl Dissanayake discussing the first SACS program were published in 2010 and 2013 and are available on PubMed, or you can email us at ask@asdetect.org for a copy. The results of the second SACS program are currently being collected.
2010 PAPER
2013 PAPER
Podcast on iTunes and SoundCloud
ASDetect guides parents through the assessment questions using specially produced videos. There are videos of children both with and without autism. Each one shows a development milestone, and some questions also have activities that you can do with your child to help you answer the question.
While you might feel upset to learn that your child has a high likelihood of autism, this knowledge can empower you to help them reach their full potential.
Young children are constantly learning. Much of their learning comes from interaction with other people: their parents, caregivers, other children and even strangers. In response to this interaction, this child’s brain is being moulded. We call this brain plasticity.
The power of early intervention:
In autism a child’s ability to learn from others is affected. But if the early signs of autism are recognised, then parents and caregivers can change the way they interact with the child. We call this early intervention.
Early intervention can be delivered:
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The Social Attention and Communication Study (SACS), on which this application is based, has been remarkably accurate in detecting autism. In our studies, 83% of children who were identified as having a high likelihood for autism by Maternal Child Health nurses, did in fact have autism. Many of the remaining children who were assessed with a high likelihood had other related developmental conditions, such as language or developmental delays.
The complete academic papers by Dr Josephine Barbaro and Professor Cheryl Dissanayake discussing the first SACS program were published in 2010 and 2013 and are available on PubMed, or you can email us at ask@asdetect.org for a copy. The results of the second SACS program are currently being collected.
2010 PAPER
2013 PAPER
ASDetect is a free app that empowers parents to assess their young children for early signs of autism.
Enter your name and email address.
Your child's date of birth will prompt ASDetect to display the appropriate assessment: 12 months, 18 months or 24 months.
Watch the videos and then answer each question 'mostly' or 'rarely'. An assessment takes between 20 and 30 minutes.
You can watch videos again and change your answers if required.
You'll receive an on-screen result of either'high' or 'low' likelihood, as well as a comprehensive results email.
Professor Dissanayake is an established researcher with a strong international reputation in research on autism. She is founder and Chair of La Trobe University’s Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre in Australia, and head of the Child Development Unit in the School of Psychology and Public Health.
La Trobe University
Dr.. Josephine Barbaro is a Senior Research Fellow at the Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre at La Trobe University. Her PhD, the Social Attention and Communication Study (SACS), led to the establishment of Australia’s first Early Assessment Clinic for autism, and has been translated and disseminated nationally and internationally.
La Trobe University
Dr Nancy Sadka is the Intake Officer for the Social Attention and Communication Study (SACS) at OTARC. Nancy has supported the journey of over 450 children and families through their early autism assessment..
La Trobe University
Mrs Olga Tennison is a philanthropist who generously donated the funds to establish the Centre which is named in her honour.
The development of ASDetect would not be possible without the support of Salesforce, via their 1-1-1 model. Salesforce calls their integrated philanthropic approach the 1-1-1 model. Since founding, they have given more than $240 million in grants, 3.5 million hours of community service, and provided product donations for more than 39,000 nonprofits and education institutions.
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*Works on iOS 10.0.5+, Android Kitkat and above.
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