Act Early Network News, Winter Issue, 2014

January 31, 2014, Issue #1
The Act Early Network supports you and the work in your state to improve early identification of developmental delays or concerns in young children, utilizing CDC’s Learn the Signs. Act Early. Program.

The Act Early Network is a collaborative initiative comprised of three parts:

• Act Early Forum – email discussion forum and Act Early webinars
• Act Early Ambassadors – early identification champions
• Act Early State Systems Projects – state projects for improving early identification

 Act Early Network New, Winter Issue. pdf [download accessible PDF]

• About 1 in 32 Somali children in Minneapolis was identified as having autism spectrum disorder. This estimate of the number of Somali children with autism spectrum disorder is about the same as White children but higher than Black and Hispanic children in Minneapolis.
• Somali children with autism spectrum disorder were more likely to have intellectual disability than children with autism spectrum disorder in all other racial and ethnic groups in Minneapolis.
• The average age of first autism spectrum disorder diagnosis among Somali children was the same as White, Black, and Hispanic children---about 5 years old. This means that many children in Minneapolis are not being diagnosed as early as they could be.

• Over 80% of children who met the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring (ADDM) Network classification for ASD, which is based on DSM-IV-TR criteria, also had documented symptoms that met the DSM-5 criteria (which were published in May 2013).
• The remaining 20% met the ADDM Network classification for ASD, but did not meet the DSM-5 criteria.
  • However, many of those children were very close to meeting DSM-5 criteria and were missing only one of the necessary symptoms.
  • Children who met the ADDM Network classification for ASD were more likely to meet DSM-5 criteria if:
  • They had a history of developmental regression;
  • They had intellectual disability; or
  • They had been diagnosed with ASD by a community provider or were receiving special education services under an autism exceptionality, or both.
  • There were no differences between boys and girls or between White and Black children in their likelihood of meeting both the DSM-5 criteria and the ADDM Network classification for ASD.
• The findings suggested that estimates of the number of children with ASD might be lower using the current DSM-5 criteria than using the previous DSM-IV-TR criteria.
• As doctors and other clinicians start using the DSM-5 criteria, they might diagnose ASD using new or revised tools or they might document symptoms differently. These changes in everyday community practice could offset the DSM-5’s effect on estimates of the number of children with ASD.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is announcing a funding opportunity to evaluate developmental monitoring using “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” materials in child care settings.

The link to the announcement is: http://www.disabilityresearchcenter.com/research/ltsae-monitoring/

Other CDC RFAs are below:

RFA-NR14-01 EHDI Quality Measures – Development of Quality Measures to Facilitate Reporting of Newborn Hearing Screening and Follow-Up Data by Providers to Jurisdictional EHDI Programs

RFA-R14-001 EHDI C-Section – Birth by Cesarean Delivery and Failure on First Otoacoustic Emissions Hearing

RFA-R14-002 EMR Rare Conditions – Linkage of Electronic Medical Records and Administrative Databases: A Novel Tool for Surveillance and Health Services Research for Rare Conditions

RFA-R14-003 Healthy Weight - Validating and/or Modifying Mainstream Health Weight Interventions for People with Disabilities

RFA-R14-004 PLAY-MH – Project to Learn About Youth – Mental Health (PLAY – MH

All applications are due February 28!

Developmental screening is important for every young child. To address the need for greater access to developmental screening Easter Seals created Make The First Five Count®, a nationwide advocacy and awareness campaign that provides direct access to The Ages and Stages Questionnaires (ASQ™). The ASQ is available online in English and Spanish. Access to the ASQ is provided at no cost to parents/care providers at www.easterseals.com.

Easter Seals scores the screening and provides the results to parents as well as follow-up information if the child has been identified to be in-need of further evaluation. Please share information about Make The First Five Count® with your personal and professional networks to ensure access to developmental screening for every child. The earlier a child receives support, the better the chance he or she will be successful in school, and in life.