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

Elizabeth M Kryszak; Charles M Albright; Kevin G Stephenson; Rose E Nevill; Darren Hedley; Claire O Burns; Robyn L Young; Eric M Butter; Kerrigan Vargo; James A Mulick

doi:10.1007/s10803-022-05433-1

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

J Autism Dev Disord. 2022 Dec;52(12):5139-5149. doi: 10.1007/s10803-022-05433-1. Epub 2022 Feb 9.

Authors

Elizabeth M Kryszak^{1

2

3}, Charles M Albright^{4

5}, Kevin G Stephenson^{4

5}, Rose E Nevill⁶, Darren Hedley⁷, Claire O Burns⁴, Robyn L Young⁸, Eric M Butter^{4

5}, Kerrigan Vargo⁴, James A Mulick⁵

Affiliations

¹ Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA. Elizabeth.kryszak@nationwidechildrens.org.
² Department of Pediatrics and Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. Elizabeth.kryszak@nationwidechildrens.org.
³ Child Development Center, Nationwide Children's Hospital, 187 W. Schrock Rd., Westerville, OH, 43081, USA. Elizabeth.kryszak@nationwidechildrens.org.
⁴ Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, USA.
⁵ Department of Pediatrics and Psychology, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
⁶ School of Education and Human Development, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA.
⁷ School of Psychology & Public Health, Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia.
⁸ Flinders University, Bedford Park, SA, Australia.

Abstract

This study provided preliminary validation of the Autism Detection in Early Childhood-Virtual (ADEC-V) for telehealth assessment of possible autism. Participants were 121 children (24.79% female) aged 18-47 months who completed telehealth evaluations at a large pediatric hospital in the Midwestern United States between October 2020 and February 2021. The ADEC-V showed good sensitivity (0.82) and specificity (0.78) and was significantly correlated with other ASD symptom measures (i.e., CARS-2, ADI-R). Internal consistency was acceptable (α = 0.77). These results need replication in a larger and broader sample including more children without ASD. This preliminary validation study identifies the ADEC-V as a promising measure for telehealth ASD assessments in young children.

Keywords: Assessment; Autism spectrum disorder; Psychometrics; Screening; Telemedicine; Young children.

MeSH terms

Autism Spectrum Disorder* / diagnosis
Autistic Disorder* / diagnosis
Child
Child, Preschool
Feasibility Studies
Female
Hospitals
Humans
Male
Telemedicine* / methods