INCLEN Diagnostic Tool for the Assessment of Autism Spectrum Disorder: A New Tool in the Speech-Language Pathologist's Armoury

Abstract

Objective: INCLEN Diagnostic Tool for Autism Spectrum Disorder (INDT-ASD) is an indigenously developed tool for the assessment of Indian children with ASD. This tool has been developed by the INCLEN group in India, and it is used by mental health professionals and pediatricians. This work was to demonstrate its clinical utility for speech-language pathologists (SLPs) and sensitize them to this new tool. Materials and Methods: Forty children between 2 and 10 years of age, with the referral diagnosis of ASD and social communication disorder (SCD) from the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, were enrolled for the study. Diagnosis was reviewed and the Childhood Autism Rating Scale was administered on all children. The children were grouped as (i) children with ASD and (ii) children with SCD, i.e., "no ASD." The INDT-ASD was then administered by an SLP, who was blind to group membership. Results: Thirty-nine out of forty children were correctly diagnosed by the INDT-ASD, showing high diagnostic accuracy of the tool. In addition to this, it is quick to administer, has very elaborate guidelines to observe different behaviors, a good scoring algorithm, and it is freely available in many regional languages. Conclusion: INDT-ASD is a simple and effective tool that can also be used regularly by SLPs and other professionals for the diagnosis of Indian children with ASD.