Assessment processes of individuals with autism spectrum disorder are examined in three groups as screening, diagnosis and developmental data collection processes. Screening is the process of identifying children who are at risk of being diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder in order to facilitate diagnosis at an early age, while identification is the process of determining whether children who are observed to have any inadequacy in social and communication behaviors have autism spectrum disorder. Assessment of development can be defined as collecting information from various sources and using different tools to determine the strengths and weaknesses of children in order to take the necessary measures, to implement any intervention program / to evaluate the effects of the implementation on development.
It is a screening tool that determines the risk of ASD in children between the ages of 16-30 months based on information obtained from their parents, teachers or caregivers. The test can be administered individually or as a group. The test takes approximately 5-10 minutes to administer. It consists of 23 items. In order to apply the scale well, it is necessary to know the symptoms of autism well and to know the children to be evaluated closely.
M- CHAT was developed by Baron-Cohen, Allen and Gillberg (1992) in England and consists of two parts. The first part consists of 9 items asked by the assessor to the parent or primary caregiver. Each of these items is related to an area of development. The 5 items in the second part are answered based on the evaluator's observations during interactions with the child in the play environment. All items in both sections are answered YES/NO. Items 5 and 7 in the first section and items 2, 3 and 4 in the second section are critical items in terms of autism. Failure in all of these items indicates that the child has a high risk for autism.
The items of the scale and the explanations of these items are as follows:
Item 1. Does your child like to be rocked on your lap or bounced on your knee? This item is among the items that are not related to autism/PDD. If the parent answers no to this item, the child is considered unsuccessful. If the parent answers yes, the child is considered successful.
Item 2. Is your child interested in other children? This item is among the items related to autism/PDD. In this item, the parent should be given an explanation about the questioned area. There are behaviors in which the state of "being interested in other children" can be observed. Some of these behaviors include looking in the direction of other children, wanting to be together with them, sharing toys, wanting to play together, responding to other children's invitations to play and joining them. If the parent states that the child exhibits these behaviors, this item is answered yes. The child is considered successful in this item. If the child does not go to other children, does not participate in their games, does not look in their direction, and acts as if other children do not exist, this item is answered no. The child is considered unsuccessful in this item.
Item 3. Does your child like to climb objects such as stairs etc.? This item is among the items that are not related to autism/PDD. If the child does not exhibit these behaviors, the answer is no and the child is considered unsuccessful. If the parent answers yes, the child is considered successful in this item.
Item 4. Does your child like to play "peek-a-boo" or hide and seek? This item is among the items related to autism/PDD. If parents have difficulty understanding peek-a-boo, you may need to demonstrate peek-a-boo using your hands. In some regions, the ce'-ee game may be known by different names. For this reason, the practitioner should show the ce'-ee game each time when explaining this item. If the child is able to play peek-a-boo or hide and seek, this item is answered yes and the child is considered successful in this item. If the child is not interested or does not participate in these games at all, the answer is no and the child fails this item.
Item 5. Does your child play symbolic games (for example, when playing with a toy car/infant, as if he/she is driving the car from one place to another/putting the baby to sleep)? This item is among the items related to autism/PDD. This item questions pretend play (symbolic play) skills. The parent should be given an explanation about the questioned area. For girls, pretending to make the baby drink water with a toy glass, pretending to feed the baby with a toy spoon, pretending to rock the baby to sleep; for boys, pretending to 'think' while driving the car.making noises like 'whistling', racing cars, pretending to collide two cars, pretending to park, driving under or over a bridge
Pretending to spend time pretending is one of the signs of pretend play (symbolic play) skill. If the child exhibits such behaviors, this item is answered yes and is considered successful. For girls, only playing with any part of the doll, such as its eyes, arm or hair, or only carrying the doll in her hand requires a no answer to this item. Similarly, for boys, only playing with a single part of the car, such as the wheel or the door, and only driving the car back and forth repetitively requires a no answer. If you observe symbolic behavior in play other than the examples given above, mark yes to this question. Some children may have a special interest in cars. They may also engage in repetitive behaviors such as lining up cars side by side. These repetitive behaviors are different from pretend play. They have no specific purpose. In cases where repetitive behaviors are observed instead of pretend play, no should be marked.
Item 6. Does your child ever use his/her index finger to ASK for something? This item is among the items related to autism/PDD. In order for a child to be successful in this item, he/she should show something he/she wants by using his/her index finger. If the child shows this behavior, the answer is yes and the child is considered successful. If the child does not use his/her index finger to show something he/she wants, if he/she expresses his/her wishes by extending his/her whole hand or by taking the parents' hand and taking it over the thing he/she wants, this item is answered no and the child is considered unsuccessful.