Research on ASD in infancy has provided a rationale for developing screening instruments for children from the first year of life to age of 18 months. A comprehensive literature search identified candidate screening tools. Using methodological probe questions adapted from the Quality Assessment of Diagnostic Accuracy Studies (QUADAS), two Level 1 and three Level 2 screening instruments were reviewed in detail. Research evidence conclusions were that instrument development was in beginning phases, is not yet strong, and requires further development. Clinical recommendations were to continue vigilant developmental and autism surveillance from the first year on but to use the screening instruments per se only for high-risk children rather than for population screening, with considerations regarding feasibility for individual settings, informing caregivers about strengths and weaknesses of the tool, and monitoring new research.

Feeding problems are known to be an important clinical issue for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), but the majority of studies on this topic have been carried out on children preschool age and older. It is important to understand whether these difficulties begin prior to age 3 years, as well as what parameters are important to study for both assessment and intervention. The present study used an early intervention chart abstraction method to examine prevalence of feeding problems in children below 3 years of age with ASD compared with those evaluated for non-ASD language delays (LD). Prevalence of feeding problems detected by speech therapists and psychologists was higher for the ASD group than for the comparison group, with the ASD group showing more food selectivity by texture (23.1% vs. 7.1%), more food selectivity by type (24.4% vs. 11.8%), more new food refusal (10.3% vs. 0%), and more food overstuffing (14.1% vs. 3.5%). We also examined the relationship between the total number of four feeding problems and child characteristics/demographics (ASD or LD diagnosis, gender, age of first evaluation, neighborhood income). Significantly more feeding problems were seen for children with ASD. As well, feeding problems were more prevalent for males. Associations between feeding problems and the other variables, as well as interactions, were not significant.

Although the conventional wisdom is that “earlier is better” when it comes to intervention for children with ASD, it is not clear what evidence exists to support this notion. This review examined a group of studies that addressed outcomes for young children with ASD who started early intervention at a range of ages. The review was selective by including only papers that examined the age of initiation of treatment as well as baseline cognitive, language, or adaptive level and, in addition, employed a method to control for the covariance between early ability level and age of beginning intervention. Fourteen studies were identified and then compared on methods and outcomes. The support for “earlier is better” was mixed, but it was clear that complex relationships among predictor variables need to be explored in order to understand the role of age of starting early intervention for later outcomes.