Can child care workers contribute to the early detection of autism spectrum disorders? A comparison between screening instruments with child care workers versus parents as informants.

Dereu et al. (2012) asked a simple question: can daycare staff spot autism as well as parents?

They gave the CESDD checklist to both child-care workers and parents of toddlers and preschoolers.

Then they compared how well each group flagged kids later diagnosed with ASD.

The daycare workers' CESDD scores matched the parents' scores almost perfectly.

Both groups picked out the same children who later received an ASD diagnosis.

Accuracy stayed high no matter who filled out the form.

Eussen et al. (2016) later showed the same idea works in low-income preschools. Staff mailed back 90% of the forms and found 3% of kids had ASD.

Eggleston et al. (2018) seems to disagree. Their study found teachers and parents often missed autism when using the CASD. The difference: they tested older, high-functioning kids. The CESDD works best with toddlers, not school-age children.

De Kegel et al. (2016) add that parents usually score higher than teachers on autism scales. Mieke’s study shows daycare workers can still match parent levels, keeping the red flags consistent.

You now have permission to trust daycare staff screenings. If a teacher hands you a completed CESDD, treat it like a parent form. Use it to decide who needs a full autism evaluation, especially when parents are hard to reach. This one change can speed up early detection and open referral doors for kids who spend most of their day in child care.