Using visual aid during caregiver interviews to screen for autism spectrum disorder in toddlers: Developing the Behavior Development Screening for Toddlers-Video (BeDevel-V)

Abstract

Caregiver interviews are a valuable means of gathering information about a child's daily behavior. However, the interviewee's biases may affect the accuracy of the information obtained from such interviews. To address this, certain items from the autism screening instrument, the Behavior Development Screening for Toddlers (BeDevel), were converted into a video (BeDevelV) as a visual reference during caregiver interviews to provide a clear understanding of the child's social behaviors. Data from 139 children aged 12-42 months (79.9 % boys, mean age 35.53 months) were included in the study, of whom 106 were autistic and 33 were non-autistic. This study evaluated the predictability and agreement of the BeDevel-V items with clinical estimates and compared the BeDevel-V to the standard interview (BeDevel-I). Most BeDevel-V items moderately predicted the clinical diagnosis. Although several items were better measured using the BeDevel-V, using it in combination with the BeDevel-I was more effective than using either tool individually. The BeDevel-V was more effective in measuring serial and nuanced items. Combining the BeDevel-V and BeDevel-I with other screening measures may be useful for autism screening, especially in regions with limited resources.