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The British Journal of Psychiatry recently published the results of a Swedish study that set out to test a parent telephone interview focused on identifying autistic spectrum disorders in children.
The Autism-Tics, ADHD and Other Comorbidities Inventory (A-TAC) is a comprehensive screening interview developed at Goteborg University to screen general populations in research and mental health surveys. It is intended for use with parents and lay people, rather than expert interviewers.
The parents of 84 children in contact with a child neuropsychiatric clinic, and 27 healthy control children, were interviewed over the telephone using the A-TAC, which takes between 15 and 35 minutes to complete. The validity and reliability of the test was assessed. Test reliability was found to be excellent overall. It was highly significant for all the dimensions assessed, and good for most aspects of the neuropsychiatric disorders, particularly for autistic spectrum disorder, tics, ADHD, learning disorders and developmental coordination disorder.
The researchers pointed out that the A-TAC compared very well with an entirely different diagnostic procedure - a comprehensive neuropsychiatric assessment by a team of clinical specialists.
They are now developing A-TAC further, by including more questions. This new test will be further validated in other neuropsychiatric patient groups, in child and adolescent psychiatry, and in the general population.
Hansson SL, Röjvall AS, Rastam M, Gillberg C, Gillberg C and Anckarsäter H (2005) Psychiatric telephone interview with parents for screening of childhood autism - tics, attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and other comorbidities (A-TAC). Preliminary reliability and validity. British Journal of Psychiatry, 187, 262-267.
Practice parameter: Screening and diagnosis of autism. Report of the Quality Standards Subcommittee of the American Academy of Neurology and the Child Neurology Society. 2000
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