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Use of the autism spectrum screening questionnaire for identification of autism spectrum disorders in 8-10 years old georgian children*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 August 2021

M. Zirakashvili ,
T. Mikiashvili ,
G. Chvamania ,
N. Mebonia  and
M. Gabunia
M. Zirakashvili*
Affiliation:
Mental Health, Georgian Academy of Childhood Disability, Tbilisi, Georgia Medical Sciences, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
T. Mikiashvili
Affiliation:
Mental Health, Georgian Academy of Childhood Disability, Tbilisi, Georgia Psychology, Javakhishvili Tbilisi State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
G. Chvamania
Affiliation:
Mental Health, Georgian Academy of Childhood Disability, Tbilisi, Georgia Psychology, Ilia State University, Tbilisi, Georgia
N. Mebonia
Affiliation:
Mental Health, Georgian Academy of Childhood Disability, Tbilisi, Georgia Department Of Chronic Deaseases, National Center for Disease Control and Public Health, Tbilisi, Georgia
M. Gabunia
Affiliation:
Mental Health, Georgian Academy of Childhood Disability, Tbilisi, Georgia Child And Adolescent Mental Health, Mental Health Center, Tbilisi, Georgia
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Rising prevalence of autism spectrum disorders highlights importance of research priority of development of effective screening procedures for schoolage children.

Objectives

The study aimed to identify the prevalence of ASD among 8-10 y old schoolchildren in Republic of Georgia.

Methods

In 2019 a cross sectional survey in four main cities of Republic of Georgia was conducted, totally 3rd and 4th grade (8-10 y old) 16654 children from 211 public schools were included. The Autism Spectrum Screening Questionnaire (ASSQ), completed by parents and teachers, was used to determine children at risk for ASD.

Results

16654 (response rate 74%) parents were agreed to participate in the study. Parents and teachers rated 770 (5.0%) and 669 children (4.9%), respectively, as screen positive (in top five percentile). Cut-off scores for 99-95 percentiles (top 1-5%) was defined. Boys were more likely to be rated screenpositive than girls. Share of boys rated in the top 5% by parents is 5.6% compared to 4.3% of girls. Teachers place boys in the top 5% even more frequently – 6.4% versus 3.4% girls. Pairwise correlation coefficients (0.53) revealed moderate correlations between scores and according to p-values (< 0.05) all correlations were statistically significant.

Conclusions

The study defined the cut-off scores of ASSQ for 8-10 y old Georgian children and gender difference in prevalence of risk for ASD. Using the ASSQ was an effective instrument and could be used in school settings to identify children with special needs. *This work was supported by Shota Rustaveli National Science Foundation of Georgia (SRNSFG), grant - FR-18-304.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

ASSQPrevalence of autism in Georgiaautism
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 64 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 29th European Congress of Psychiatry , April 2021 , pp. S635 - S636
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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