Overview
The Screening Tool for Autism in Toddlers & Young Children (STAT; Stone, Coonrod, & Ousley, 2000) is an autism screening instrument designed to be used for children between the ages of 24 and 36 months. This instrument is designed for use by community service providers who work with young children in assessment or intervention settings and who have experience with autism. The STAT consists of 12 interactive activities administered within the context of play. Behaviors are examined in four social-communicative domains: play, motor imitation, and requesting and directing attention. The observations are assessed, and performance on each item is rated as Pass, Fail, or Refuse, based on specified criteria. The STAT may be given by a wide range of professionals, but training in administration and scoring is required. Administration time is approximately 20 minutes. The STAT Training Tutorial (included in the Test Kit) is an interactive web-based application that provides thorough instruction on item administration and scoring.
Summary
Age: 2 years to 3 years
Time to Administer: 20 minutes
Method of Administration: This instrument requires special training to administer.
Interactive play-based
Yields an overall score ranging from 0 to 4, with lower scores indicating less impairment; >2 indicates high risk of autism
Subscales: Overall score
Domains contributing: Play; Motor Imitation; Requesting; Directing Attention
Screening/Diagnosis: S
Autism Related Research
Stone, Coonrod, Turner, & Pozdol (2004)
Age Range: 2-3 years
Sample Size: 52
Topics Addressed:
Establish psychometric properties of the STAT
Outcome:Stone, Coonrod, Turner, & Pozdol (2004)
The STAT psychometric properties were strong as a level-2 screening measure for autism. It showed high sensitivity, specificity, and predictive value in identifying young children at risk for autism in a clinic-based sample. STAT scores were reliable across examiners and across test-retest administrations. Children with milder symptomatology may be missed by this instrument, however.