Early identification of autism in Egyptian children using Arabic version of checklist for autism in toddlers-23 (CHAT-23)

Abstract

Background: Screening is the first important step in the diagnostic process. There is strong evidence that early diagnosis and management of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can lead to a better prognosis. The purpose of this study was to develop an Arabic version of the Chinese Checklist for Autism in Toddlers-23 (CHAT-23) to distinguish children with ASD in the Egyptian community.

Methods: The Arabic CHAT-23 checklist was applied to 100 Egyptian children with mental age 18-24 months including 30 autistic and 70 typically-developing children.

Results and conclusion: Arabic CHAT-23 checklist is a valid and reliable tool for early identification of ASD in Egyptian children with high sensitivity (93.3%) and specificity (97%). Children failing any 15 of all 23 questions of the parental questionnaire should be observed with observational items. Failing any 3 of the 4 observational items would suggest ASD.

Keywords:

• Autism spectrum disorder
• CHAT
• M-CHAT
• CHAT-23
• screening

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Availability of data and material

All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this manuscript.

Acknowledgement

The authors wish to thank all the children and parents who participated in this research.