Abstract
Current findings on high prevalence (up to 1%) of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) encourage further research in the field of early identification of these disorders. The article presents a review of current knowledge on early autistic symptomatology as well as on the methods of early diagnosis of ASD.
Main screening studies carried out both on general population and samples of high-risk siblings of children already diagnosed with ASD are analysed. Parameters of following screening tests are discussed - Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (CHAT), Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (M-CHAT), Quantitative Checklist for Autism in Toddlers (Q-CHAT), Early Screening of Autistic Traits (ESAT), Infant Toddler Checklist (ITC) and First Year Inventory (FYI).
In the end of the article the importance of early intervention is emphasized.