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NCT Number: NCT07006948

Multicenter Validation Study on Autism Screening Using a Machine-assisted System

The goal of this observational study is to assess the effectiveness of a machine-assisted system for early screening of autism. The main questions it aims to answer are:

* Does the machine-assisted system including 5 main behavioral paradigms identify toddlers with autism from those with other neurodevelopmental disorders and typical development? * Are there any differences in the early symptoms of autism among toddlers over the whole mainland China? Participants will receive some developmental and social communicational evaluations for clinical diagnoses. They will also receive the behavior evaluations of the machine-assisted system. The above evaluations will be performed just once.

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Key information

Conditions

Autism Spectrum Disorder Child Development Disorders, Pervasive Communication Disorders Early Developmental Impairment Language Development Disorders Language Disorders Mental Disorders Nervous System Diseases Neurobehavioral Manifestations Neurodevelopmental Disorders Neurologic Manifestations Pathological Conditions, Signs and Symptoms Signs and Symptoms

Age range

18 month–30 month

Sex eligibility

All sexes

Study type

Observational

Primary location

Hefei First People's Hospital, Hefei, Anhui, China

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About this study

The current study is a diagnostic accuracy study. In total, 1000 Toddlers with autism spectrum disorder, global developmental delay, language disorder, and typical development (n=250 for each group) will be recruited in this study. The gold standard of the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder will be the clinical diagnosis from developmental and behavioral pediatricians, and the diagnoses will be confirmed by Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2nd edition and Griffiths Development Scales-Chinese edition(GDS-C). The diagnostic accuracy of the machine-assisted system for early screening of autism will be evaluated.

Who can participate

Healthy volunteers accepted: Yes

Only the study team can determine whether someone qualifies for participation.

ASD group：

Inclusion criteria

  • Children diagnosed with ASD according to a clinical judgement based on the criteria of ASD in DSM-5 and further confirmed with ADOS-2;
  • Ages 1.5-2.5 years;
  • Parents/caregivers understand the content of the study and agree to participate in.

GDD group：

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 1.5-2.5 years, gestational age 37-42 weeks, birth weight 2500-4000g;
  • Clinically diagnosed with GDD (Global Developmental Delay) according to the DSM-V diagnostic criteria, with a Griffiths Development Scales-Chinese edition(GDS-C) assessment showing a Developmental Quotient (DQ) ≤75 in two or more domains;
  • Those who did not meet the initial screening positivity criteria for ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) using M-CHAT-R/F.

LD group：

Inclusion criteria

  • Age 1.5-2.5 years, gestational age 37-42 weeks, birth weight 2500-4000 g;
  • Clinically diagnosed with LD (Language Disorder) according to the DSM-V diagnostic criteria, with a Developmental Quotient (DQ) ≤75 in the language domain of the Griffiths Development Scales-Chinese edition(GDS-C) and DQ >75 in all other domains;
  • Those who did not meet the initial screening positivity criteria for ASD (Autism Spectrum Disorder) assessed by M-CHAT-R/F

Exclusion criteria

for ASD, GDD, and LD groups:

  • Rett Syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, Angelman Syndrome, Prader-Willi Syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, and other syndromes caused by known genetic defects or inherited metabolic diseases;
  • Children with brain injuries, specific chronic or congenital diseases.
  • The gestational age is less than 37 weeks, or the birth weight is lower than 2500g.

TD group：

Inclusion criteria

  • Healthy, typically developing toddlers aged 1.5-2.5 years ;
  • gestational age of 37-42 weeks, birth weight of 2500-4000 g;
  • Developmental Quotients(DQs) are greater than 75 in all domains of theGriffiths Development Scales-Chinese edition(GDS-C);
  • Screened negative by M-CHAT-R/F screening for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Exclusion criteria

Children with neurodevelopmental disorders (e.g., developmental delay, language impairment), neurological conditions (e.g., epilepsy, tuberous sclerosis), or other severe chronic diseases were excluded.

Treatment and study plan

Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, the 2nd edition(ADOS-2)

Diagnostic Test

The toddlers diagnosed with ASD will receive the ADOS-2 evaluation to confirm the diagnosis.

Griffiths Developmental Scales, Chinese edition(GDS-C)

Diagnostic Test

The toddlers diagnosed with ASD, GDD, LD, and typically developing will receive the GDS-C evaluation to confirm the diagnosis.

Primary outcomes

  1. Total Score of 5 main social behaviors

    Time frame: The assessment will be performed during 1.5 to 2.5 years old.

    The 5 main social behaviors include Response to name, Response to instructions, Joint attention, request by pointing, and free play. Scores of the 5 scenes range from 0 to 4, and the total score ranges from 0 to 16. Higher score indicates better social skills. Subjects' behaviors will be scored both by investigators and the machine-assisted system.

  2. Clinical diagnoses

    Time frame: The diagnoses will be made during 1.5 to 2.5 years old.

    The clinical diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), global developmental delay (GDD), and language disorder (LD) will be made according to the standard of DSM-5. The diagnosis of ASD will be confirmed by The Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers, Revised with Follow-Up (M-CHAT-R/F) and Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, the 2nd edition (ADOS-2). The diagnoses of GDD and LD will be confirmed by Griffiths Development Scales-Chinese edition (GDS-C). Subjects in TD group will also receive assessments of M-CHAT-R/F, (negative) and GDS-C (DQs>75).

  3. Scores of Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2nd edition(ADOS-2)

    Time frame: The assessment will be performed during 1.5 to 2.5 years old.

    The scores of social affect and restricted repetitive behaviors and the comparison score of ADOS-2 will be used for confirming the clinical diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder(ASD). The minimum and maximum scores of ADOS-2 are 0 and 28, and the comparison score of ADOS-2 ranges from 1 to 10, in which higher scores mean a worse outcome.

  4. development quotient development quotient Development quotients (DQs) of Griffiths Developmental Scales-Chinese edition(GDS-C)

    Time frame: The assessment will be performed during 1.5 to 2.5 years old.

    DQs of Griffiths Development Scales-Chinese edition(GDS-C) will be used for confirming the diagnoses of global developmental delay(GDD) and language disorder(LD), also be used to evaluate the development level of typically developing toddlers. The average scores of DQ in different domains are 100, and the standard deviations are 15. The DQ lower than 70(including 70) means lower than normal.

Study contacts

Contact information is provided by the study sponsor or research team.

Bingrui Zhou

CONTACT

[email protected]

13701989113

Sponsors and collaborators

Lead sponsor

Children's Hospital of Fudan University

Other

Collaborators

  • Chengdu Women's and Children's Central Hospital
  • Dehong People's Hospital
  • Harbin Institute of Technology, Shenzhen
  • Hefei First People's Hospital
  • Kunshan City Maternal and Child Health
  • Liuzhou Maternity and Child Healthcare Hospital
  • Ningbo Women & Children's Hospital
  • The Sixth Affiliated Hospital of Harbin Medical University
  • Xiamen Children's Hospital
  • Xian Children's Hospital

Registry information

Official study title

Multicenter Validation Study on the Effectiveness of a Machine-Assisted System for Early Screening of Autism

Important dates

Study start
2025
Primary completion
2028
Study completion
2029
First posted
Jun 5, 2025
Registry last updated
Sep 16, 2025

OpenTrials presents study information sourced from ClinicalTrials.gov. The official registry record should be consulted for the latest information.

View the official ClinicalTrials.gov record (opens in a new tab)

This listing is for discovery and informational purposes only. It is not medical advice, does not guarantee that a study is recruiting, and does not determine eligibility. Contact the study team and a qualified healthcare professional when considering participation.

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