A video-based evaluation to determine the risk of autism spectrum disorder in infancy

Early childhood is a critical period for achieving long-term developmental gains in children. For this reason, the first step of starting early intervention programs is to carry out developmental screening studies, by identifying children whose development is at risk and with developmental delays in this period, and by providing the necessary services. Early diagnosis and intervention are known to optimize developmental outcomes in ASD. The aim of this study is to compare the communication, language and speech skills (pre-pragmatic skills) of children with autism in their preverbal stages with those of typically developing children by watching their videos and asking their families' opinions. In the study, receptive language skills, expressive language skills and pre-pragmatic skills (eye contact, joint attention, vocalization, game skills, gestures and mimics) were examined by retrospectively examining the video recordings of children diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). . This case observation study was conducted in Bursa Anka Special Education and Rehabilitation Center between 05/11/2022 and 06/06/2023 and lasted for approximately 7 months. The study included 15 children with a diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder, who were examined by a Child and Adolescent Psychiatrist, and 15 children with typical development and normal hearing without any additional diagnosis. The evaluations of the children were made according to the video recordings between 0-12 months and the information received from the families. The videos recorded between 0-12 months of all children included in the study were watched, and receptive language skills, expressive language skills, and pre-pragmatic skills of typically developing children and children with autism were compared. In addition, pre-pragmatic skills were compared with the information obtained from the families. As a result, it was revealed that the use of gestures was less in babies with autism close to the age of 12 months. According to the findings, it is necessary to evaluate pre-pragmatic skills and receptive and expressive language skills in order to diagnose babies with autism in the early period and start education. These skills appear to differ from typically developing infants. Scanning studies are the most ideal.