Use of the M-CHAT to screen for autism spectrum disorder among toddlers aged 16 to 30 months in Region 4 Guyana: a pilot study

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To assess whether the Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT) was easily administered in a Guyanese clinic setting and how the findings in Guyana compared to international studies. DESIGN AND METHODS: The M-CHAT was used to screen for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) at 9 Health Centres in Guyana over 1 month. An information session aimed at raising Autism awareness in the community and to inform the parents/guardians attending well child clinic of the purpose of the study was conducted every morning at each clinic. A questionnaire was administered for demographic data and the family’s socioeconomic status was determined using the parent’s education level, occupations and household income. The M-CHAT results were compared to child sex, parental age, parental ethnicity, socioeconomic status, birth order of the child and the child’s age on the date of administration of the test. RESULTS: Data from 415 respondents (parents/guardians) was used for analysis of the children under study (M 210, F 205). 10.6% of the children failed the M-CHAT (M 10.5%, F 10.7% p = 0.93) with 2.3% of these being high risk and 97.7% medium risk for ASD. Of the parameters tested, maternal ethnicity (Afro-Guyanese, p = 0.03) and paternal education (low, p = 0.001) were found to be significant. CONCLUSION: While we were unable to re-test the population to confirm ASD, the trends observed for the M-CHAT were similar to those found in international studies.