Jennifer A. Pinto-Martin ^1*, Margaret Dunkle ², Dane Fliedner ³, Cynthia Landes ⁴, Marian Earls ⁵

¹ University of Pennsylvania
² George Washington University
³ The Children's Clinic
⁴ Cedar Sinai Medical Center
⁵ Guilford Child Health

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: pinto{at}nursing.upenn.edu.

	Abstract

Through the use of two-stage screening strategies, research studies have demonstrated that autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other developmental disabilities (DD) can now be reliably and validly detected in children as young as 18 months. Screening and diagnostic practices in the medical and educational arena lag far behind clinical research, however, with the average age of diagnosis reported as 3-6 years of age. This paper discusses the challenges of instituting universal developmental screening as part of pediatric care and presents two models of existing or planned programs of early screening for ASD/DD, one in a community-based setting and the other in the pediatric setting. The challenges and steps to overcoming those challenges are discussed.

Key Words: Community Health, Disability, Epidemiology, Public Health Practice

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