Clinical Research Directory

Early Assessment of Autism Through Smart Tablet Gameplay

The primary aim of this study is to compare the diagnostic accuracy of an iPad application (Play.Care assessment) with the current clinical "gold standard" diagnosis for diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in children. Recent evidence has suggested that movement abnormalities are one of the early markers of ASD. However, current clinical diagnostic assessments fail to take this into account. Further, the current "gold standard" clinical tests take a number of hours to administer, require extensive clinical training and are subject to a certain level of subjectivity. Alternatively, by assessing a child's interaction with an iPad screen as they play, an objective measurement of movement can be obtained, which can aid in the diagnostic process. This study aims to recruit a total of 760 children (Typically Developing (TD), Other Neurodevelopmental Disorders (OND) and ASD groups) to assess the diagnostic accuracy of tablet game play in ASD. Children who have been diagnosed with ASD will perform the Play.Care assessment to assess if the tablet result matches their clinical diagnosis. Results from the clinical assessment and Play.Care assessment will then be compared to assess the sensitivity (the proportion of participants with ASD who test positive for ASD as a result of the Play.Care assessment) and specificity (the proportion of participants without ASD who test negatively for ASD as a result of the Play.Care assessment assessment) of the Play.Care assessment.