Cross Cultural Variation in the Neurodevelopmental Assessment of Children – The Cultural and Neurological to 2nd Language Acquisition and Children with Autism

With the increased incidence of autism on an international level (1), early detection and diagnosis of children with autism is of paramount importance and key to providing early intervention. Research indicates the outcome for academic success is significantly enhanced by early identification and intervention (2). Researchers have identified that early identification and intervention of communicative disorders have given children the opportunity to decrease later academic and literacy difficulties, and experience success in the school setting (3). Many times children see various health providers that do not provide the appropriate diagnosis of a child with autism, thus delaying the process of that child to receive appropriate services. Consequently, a significant lag between the parents' first concerns regarding their child and the eventual diagnosis exists, which in turn postpones the onset of appropriate treatment and as a result precious time is lost. Screening toddlers represents the first level of evaluation for early detection of autism. However, very few screenings exist that tap into the early identification of children with autism. The value of identifying children with autism utilizing the M-CHAT by neurodevelopmental pediatricians in Poland and the US has recently been reported by us. The efficacy of the M-CHAT screener has been documented as an adequate standard in identifying 18 month old toddlers who are at risk for autism. Results obtained in Krakow, Poland have been compared with those obtained in San Diego, California, USA. The MCHAT has been found to be an adequate tool in screening 18 month old toddlers, as it was able to retrospectively identify children who already received a diagnosis of autism with statistical significance (4). This tool has value on the international level allowing comparisons of both similarities and differences in the results in different countries that may be important in identifying children with autism at an early age. In addition to the communicative behaviors screened by the M-CHAT, neurobiological and socio-cultural