The STAT was designed for use by community professionals -- including psychologists, pediatricians, speech-language pathologists, preschool teachers, and early intervention specialists.

Vanderbilt Kennedy TRIAD offers online training for early autism screening

Updated on 10/12/2009 9:32:01 AM.

Source: Vanderbilt Kennedy Center

A wide variety of professionals can now become certified for independent use of the STAT™ (Screening Tool for Autism in Toddlers & Young Children) through successful completion of a new web-based STAT Training Tutorial.

The STAT is an empirically derived, interactive measure developed to screen for autism in children between 24 and 36 months of age. It consists of 12 activities that assess the areas of play, communication, and imitation, and takes about 20 minutes to administer.

The STAT was designed for use by community professionals -- including psychologists, pediatricians, speech-language pathologists, preschool teachers, and early intervention specialists -- who work with young children in assessment or intervention settings. It has been used nationally and internationally in clinical and research programs attempting to identify the earliest signs of autism.

Recently, in Tennessee the instrument has been incorporated into pediatrician trainings, dubbed “STAT-MD” trainings, aimed at reducing waits for autism identification in young children. While early diagnosis and intervention are thought to be crucial for children with ASD, it is not uncommon for parents to have to wait months to receive an appropriate diagnosis. To address this service gap, a team of Vanderbilt researchers have partnered with the Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics to incorporate the STAT into community pediatric practices across the state.

The STAT Test Kit includes the User’s Manual, Test Materials, Test Protocols and Scoring Sheets, and the web-based Training Tutorial. The STAT Tutorial provides thorough instruction on item administration and scoring, using numerous video examples and offering multiple opportunities for practice and feedback. Information about interpreting STAT results and explaining results to parents is also provided.

Successful completion of the Tutorial Post-Test earns certification for independent use of the STAT as well as Continuing Education Credits for psychologists and physicians.

The STAT was developed by Wendy Stone, Ph.D., professor of pediatrics and director of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Treatment and Research Institute for Autism Spectrum Disorders (TRIAD), and by Opal Ousley, Ph.D., assistant professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Emory University School of Medicine.

One-day STAT Training Workshops also are available at Vanderbilt University.

For more information or to order a STAT Test Kit visit: http://TRIAD.vanderbilt.edu/STAT, call (615) 322-6533, or email: STAT@vanderbilt.edu