Efficacy of the ADEC in Identifying Autism Spectrum Disorder in Clinically Referred Toddlers in the US.

The team tested a 10-minute play-based screen called ADEC. They gave it to toddlers who were already sent to a clinic for developmental concerns.

They wanted to know if ADEC could spot autism as well as longer tests do.

ADEC caught 93-94 out of every 100 toddlers who truly had ASD. It rarely missed a case, so you can feel safe when it says “yes.”

The trade-off: it also flags some kids who do not have ASD, so always follow up with a full assessment.

Toh et al. (2018) looked at M-CHAT in similar clinic toddlers and found it missed many ASD cases. ADEC’s 93-94 % hit rate makes it the stronger first pass.

Lancioni et al. (2006) showed that the long ADI-R interview often fails with toddlers because they have not yet shown repetitive play. ADEC sidesteps that problem by watching play directly, so it keeps its high sensitivity.

Allison et al. (2008) found the parent-filled Q-CHAT also works well. ADEC gives you a second path: if parents struggle with forms, you can still screen accurately by play.

You now have a 10-minute tool that catches almost every ASD case in referred toddlers. Use ADEC while the family is still in the waiting room. If it flags the child, move straight to ADOS and schedule intervention. The brief time cost means fewer kids slip through the cracks.