The Developmental Check-In: Development and initial testing of an autism screening tool targeting young children from underserved communities.

The team built a 28-item picture booklet called the Developmental Check-In. Parents point to pictures that match their toddler’s skills instead of reading long questions.

They tested it with 376 low-income toddlers and preschoolers. Most families spoke little English and had no autism screening before.

The booklet correctly picked autism from non-autism 75 % of the time. That is close to the 80 % bar set by the American Academy of Pediatrics for community screeners.

Parents finished it in under five minutes and needed no help from staff.

Bao et al. (2017) reviewed 18 low-resource screeners and warned most lack standard rules for cultural fit. The new picture tool answers that call by removing words entirely.

Peiris et al. (2022) built a seven-item checklist in Sri Lanka that also works without fancy tools. Their list is shorter but still needs staff to score behaviors, while the picture booklet lets parents self-report.

Tsai et al. (2012) reached almost perfect accuracy with a 15-item parent form in Taiwan. Their sample was small and highly selected, so the 75 % rate in the larger U.S. low-income group may be more realistic for busy clinics.

You can hand the booklet to families in waiting rooms, parking lots, or home visits. No tablet, Wi-Fi, or long interview needed. If a child scores high, move straight to full evaluation and start services earlier. Keep copies in Spanish and English; laminate them so they survive clinic life.