Using the M-CHAT-R/F as a Screening Measure to Detect Autism Risk in Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders

Indianapolis, IN

The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised with Follow-Up (M-CHAT-R/F) is a widely used parent-report screening tool to identify autism-related features in toddlers. The structured phone interview portion of the screener (i.e., Level 2) enables a closer examination of the initial parent reports (i.e., Level 1). Our research focused on the utility of the M-CHAT-R/F in screening for autism risk in toddlers with neurodevelopmental disorders. More specifically, we examined whether the phone interview is a valuable tool to clarify the initial responses. Our study investigated Angelman Syndrome (AS), Prader-Willi Syndrome (PWS), and Williams Syndrome (WS). Participants included 29 toddlers at Level 1, of which 21 were eligible for Level 2. Our final sample included 15 toddlers (AS: n=7; PWS: n=4; WS: n=4) aged 16 to 29 months. All participants completed a web-based M-CHAT-R/F, where higher scores reflected greater risk for autism concerns. We predicted that toddlers with AS and PWS would score higher than those with WS. We also predicted that the scores at Level 2 would be lower than those at Level 1, indicating the utility of the phone interview. Consistent with our predictions, preliminary results indicated that the median scores decreased from 12 to 9 for AS, from 4 to 3 for PWS, and from 5 to 2.5 for WS. Final analyses will include Wilcoxon rank-sum and one-sample median tests to look at more specific item-level responses. Our study highlights the value of the M-CHAT-R/F in autism screening and diagnosis for children with neurodevelopmental disorders.