Abstract

CARVALHO, Felipe Alckmin et al. Screening of early signs of autism spectrum disorder in children of a day care center from the city of São Paulo. Psicol. teor. prat. [online]. 2013, vol.15, n.2, pp. 144-154. ISSN 1516-3687.

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are considered one of the most severe childhood disorders are characterized by compromise and social skills initials, which appear early in a child's life, and therefore can be investigated from this period. The aim of the research was to describe the social orientation and joint attention skills in a random sample of 104 children, aged between 16 and 24 months, identifying possible early signs of ASD in this population. For the screening were used the Pictorial Infant Communication Scales (Pics) and the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-Chat). Among the children studied, four (3.8%) showed early signs of ASD. The skills most compromised in these children, according to the Pics were the abilities of initiation of joint attention and initiation of request behavior. Data from this and other research in this field are relevant for planning interventions that can lead to better prognosis of cases.

Keywords : autistic disorder; early diagnosis; child development; social skills; cross-sectional study.

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