Identifying Atypical Development: A Role of Day-Care Workers?

Zhang, Dajie; Krieber-Tomantschger, Iris; Poustka, Luise; Roeyers, Herbert; Sigafoos, Jeff; Bölte, Sven; Marschik, Peter B.; Einspieler, Christa

doi:10.1007/s10803-019-04056-3

Cited by 10 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 52 publications

(64 reference statements)

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“…Other studies have presented similar results, for example, Nilsson Jobs et al (58) found that, compared to parents, preschool staff rated autism symptoms more in accordance with the health care staff. In line with a study by Zhang et al (51), we believe that the special education teachers' special knowledge and experience were crucial for detection of signs of autism and level of agreement between the two examiners. In the present study, the preschool special education teachers were able to recognize developmental impairment in respect of joint attention behaviours.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

“…Several studies have highlighted that preschool staff can effectively detect early symptoms of autism and other atypical features in early development (51)(52)(53)(54)(55), also in low-income and multiethnic settings (56,57). Day-care workers often have education in child development, as well as experience in working with children with diverse disabilities.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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A feasibility study of a new instrument for detection of autism signs in preschool settings. Psychometric properties of the joint attention observation schedule preschool (JA-OBS preschool)

Linnsand

Hermansson

Gillberg

et al. 2023

Front. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry

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BackgroundIdentifying signs of autism is essential for enabling timely diagnosis and intervention. Children from multiethnic and socioeconomic disadvantaged settings are typically diagnosed with autism later than their general peers. This feasibility study explored the psychometric properties of a new instrument, Joint Attention Observation Schedule Preschool (JA-OBS Preschool), in children with suspected autism.MethodsData were collected from a prospective longitudinal study of 46 children aged 2–4 years who lived in a multiethnic, low resource area. The children had been referred from the Child Health Centre to a multiprofessional team for a neuropsychiatric assessment. In the diagnostic process, the instrument JA-OBS Preschool for observation of a child's capability of engaging in joint attention was included. Descriptive statistics and Cronbach's alfa were used to analyze the psychometric properties, including internal consistency reliability and inter-rater consistency.ResultsAll 46 children with suspected autism screened positive on the JA-OBS Preschool. The internal consistency reliability of the instrument was calculated at 0.8 (Cronbach's alfa). Percent agreement between two examiners in JA-OBS Preschool ranged from 77% to 100%.ConclusionJA-OBS Preschool was found to be a promising instrument for identifying signs of autism in children in this setting. However, further research is needed to determine the psychometric properties of the JA-OBS Preschool in a general child population as well as in a younger age group.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 87%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A feasibility study of a new instrument for detection of autism signs in preschool settings. Psychometric properties of the joint attention observation schedule preschool (JA-OBS preschool)

Linnsand

Hermansson

Gillberg

et al. 2023

Front. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry

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“…However, as noted, it may be for reasons other than disabilities that children have SEN in preschool, and the Swedish Education Act consequently states the preschool's responsibility to identify and respond to children's need for special support for physical, mental, or other reasons (SFS 2010, 800). A recent study found that most preschool professionals can distinguish typical and atypical developments after observing children's behaviour, demonstrating they could play an important role to identify SEN (Zhang et al 2019), which is important for implementing early interventions effectively. In our study, the teachers' repeated and varied observations with TIS-S, seem to have prevented a static picture of children's social play behaviour, in favour of a more contextual assessment.…”

Section: Importance Of Outcomementioning

confidence: 99%

Social validity and psychometric properties of Teacher Impression Scale – A pilot study

Gladh

Westling

Siljehag

et al. 2021

European Journal of Special Needs Education

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Teachers of inclusive early childhood education (ECE) are responsible for monitoring children's social skills achievement, and promoting social play between children with and without special educational needs (SEN). The Teacher Impression Scale (TIS) is an observational assessment developed for this purpose. This study aims to explore the social validity of the Swedish version of TIS, TIS-S, and to evaluate its effectiveness in identifying participants for peer-mediated interventions in Swedish preschools; by also testing the internal consistency, and the construct and criterion-related validity of the scale. The teachers (N = 16) observed children with SEN (n = 16) and without SEN (n = 16) in social play situations with TIS-S and subsequently answered a survey. Data were analysed quantitatively and qualitatively. Results demonstrate that the TIS-S has high internal reliability. The TIS-S also discriminated between the groups of children with and without SEN, which provided evidence of construct and criterion validity. Social validity was verified as the teachers reported that TIS-S was suitable for recognising individual children's need for support in interactions with peers, planning for adaptations for all children in the social learning environment, and reflecting on the complexity of children's social behaviour in play.

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“…There are many features of early childcare settings that can facilitate the identification of children who show signs of delay or vulnerabilities. Registered Early Childhood Educators (RECEs) are trained in child development, see families on a regular basis, have multiple opportunities to observe a child, and can offer connections to other organizations and services when there is an identified need (36,37). Regular surveillance and screening already occur in school-aged children and it is accepted that using teacher-reported instruments in schools can be an effective method for identifying school-aged children who show signs of delay or developmental vulnerability (38)(39)(40).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Validity of the Early Years Check-In (EYCI) in a Cross-Sectional Sample of Families

et al. 2020

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Background: The objective of the present study was to develop and test the validity of the Early Years Check-In (EYCI), a new tool that measures parent and educator concerns regarding children's development. The study examined the EYCI's agreement with 3rd edition of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (BSID-III) an established measure of child development. Two possible thresholds were explored: one to identify children with a probable delay, and another to identify children at the borderline functioning threshold. Methods: Parents of children aged 18 to 42 months were recruited from childcare settings across Ontario, Canada. The study proceeded in two phases. Phase I, intended to pilot the measure, included 49 children. Phase II, a test of the validity of the final version, included 199 children. Parents and educators completed the EYCI for the child, while a blinded assessor completed the BSID-III. Results: The EYCI demonstrated good sensitivity and specificity (86 and 82%, respectively) as a parent-completed tool that identifies children with a probable delay. However, the positive predictive value (15%) suggests the EYCI is likely to over identify children. When identifying children who demonstrated borderline delay, the EYCI demonstrated good sensitivity (80%) but poor specificity (49%). Results from educator-completed EYCIs were poor for both probable and borderline delay. Conclusions: While further research is required, the EYCI shows promise as a parent-completed tool, particularly to identify more-severe cases of delay. Results with educators were poor overall. Future research investigating accuracy of educators in different types of early childcare centres is needed.

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Identifying Atypical Development: A Role of Day-Care Workers?

Cited by 10 publications

References 52 publications

A feasibility study of a new instrument for detection of autism signs in preschool settings. Psychometric properties of the joint attention observation schedule preschool (JA-OBS preschool)

A feasibility study of a new instrument for detection of autism signs in preschool settings. Psychometric properties of the joint attention observation schedule preschool (JA-OBS preschool)

Social validity and psychometric properties of Teacher Impression Scale – A pilot study

Validity of the Early Years Check-In (EYCI) in a Cross-Sectional Sample of Families

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