Autism screening tests: A narrative review

Abstract

As screening tests are tools to quantify communication-interactive abilities of speech and language; therefore, to evaluate, screen, diagnose and treat various aspects of one’s abilities, they are necessary. The purpose of this study is to review the existing autism screening tools, their subtests, administration, scoring, and application in clinical and research contexts in children and adults. This study was a review of autism screening tools; hence, an electronic search through databases such as PubMed, Scopus, Medline, SID, and Magiran was performed from 2000 to 2021. The tests were examined in terms of year of publication, duration, age range, assessment method, subtests, and psychometric properties and furthermore, they were reviewed in details. In this study, 19 autism screening tests were evaluated and The Autism Spectrum Quotient was found to have the shortest administration time while The Gilliam Autism Rating Scale had the longest, and the only test that varied in duration was the Autism Screening Instrument for educational planning. Autism screening is a complex issue. Reviewing these articles reveals that some tests have been used more in recent years due to their specialized subtests or easy and fast administration. Prompt testing is extremely crucial especially in emergency situations like the current COVID-19 pandemic the world is struggling with today. A review of speech tone tests shows that the CARS-2 is one of the most widely validated autism assessments.