Screening Vietnamese Children in the United States for Autism Risk: Examination of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers–Revision With Follow-Up Vietnamese

Abstract

Purpose: This study examined the utility of the Vietnamese version of the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers–Revised with Follow-Up (M-CHAT-R/F) for screening Vietnamese children for autism risk. Cultural reasons and/or limited access to health care has resulted in delays in receiving an autism diagnosis for children of racial minorities. Delays in receiving an autism diagnosis may subsequently result in delay in receiving early intervention services. Therefore, this study examined the feasibility of implementing autism screening for Vietnamese American children. Method: The M-CHAT-R/F is a well-validated autism screening test offered in multiple languages such as Vietnamese. It takes approximately 10 min for caregivers to complete 20 yes/no-response items and includes a follow-up interview for initial screen-failed items to reduce false-positive rates. We recruited 205 parents of children aged between 16 and 36 months in Southern California to conduct a broadband screening, not an autism-specific screening. The participants responded to a print or an online Qualtrics version of the M-CHAT-R/F in a language of their choice, either English or Vietnamese. Results: A total of 79 of the 205 participants provided complete responses. Of the 79 participants, 20% of the results were initially screened positive. Seven participants were not available for follow-up interviews. Screen-positive rates were estimated to range from 8% to 15% based on completed follow-ups. Conclusions: The estimated screen-positive rates in this exploratory study were higher than the reported screen-positive rates in a Vietnamese population sample using the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers. Limitations of this study include participant recruitment difficulty, a small sample size, and the inability to conduct follow-up interviews with some participants. Future studies should use larger and more representative samples and examine potential cultural factors possibly impacting interest in screening Vietnamese children for autism risk.