Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers

I recently took my twin toddlers for their checkup at the pediatrician and was given this short quiz to take about their behavior. I looked into this further and found out that it was an autism screening test called M-CHAT. I thought you might be interested in seeing the quiz and how the scoring is done. M-CHAT: Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers Please fill out the following about how your child usually is. Please try to answer every question. If the behavior is rare (e.g., you've seen it once or twice), please answer as if the child does not do it. 1. Does your child enjoy being swung, bounced on your knee, etc.? Yes No 2. Does your child take an interest in other children? Yes No 3. Does your child like climbing on things, such as up stairs? Yes No 4. Does your child enjoy playing peek-a-boo/hide-and-seek? Yes No 5. Does your child ever pretend, for example, to talk on the phone or take care of a doll or Yes No pretend other things? 6. Does your child ever use his/her index finger to point, to ask for something? Yes No 7. Does your child ever use his/her index finger to point, to indicate interest in something? Yes No 8. Can your child play properly with small toys (e.g. cars or blocks) without just mouthing, fiddling, or dropping them? Yes No 9. Does your child ever bring objects over to you (parent) to show you something? Yes No 10. Does your child look you in the eye for more than a second or two? Yes No 11. Does your child ever seem oversensitive to noise? (e.g., plugging ears) Yes No 12. Does your child smile in response to your face or your smile? Yes No 13. Does your child imitate you? (e.g., you make a face-will your child imitate it?) Yes No 14. Does your child respond to his/her name when you call? Yes No 15. If you point at a toy across the room, does your child look at it? Yes No 16. Does your child walk? Yes No 17. Does your child look at things you are looking at? Yes No 18. Does your child make unusual finger movements near his/her face? Yes No 19. Does your child try to attract your attention to his/her own activity? Yes No 20. Have you ever wondered if your child is deaf? Yes No 21. Does your child understand what people say? Yes No 22. Does your child sometimes stare at nothing or wander with no purpose? Yes No 23. Does your child look at your face to check your reaction when faced with something unfamiliar? Yes No © 1999 Diana Robins, Deborah Fein, & Marianne Barton ------------------------------------------------------------------- SCORING: M-CHAT Scoring Instructions A child fails the checklist when 2 or more critical items are failed OR when any three items are failed. Yes/no answers convert to pass/fail responses. Below are listed the failed responses for each item on the M-CHAT. Bold capitalized items are CRITICAL items.

Note from Gummy Lump: These are the FAILED answers below. You are looking for matches to these which would indicate that your child MAY have Autism Spectrum Disorder. Not all children who fail the checklist will meet criteria for a diagnosis on the autism spectrum. However, children who fail the checklist should be evaluated in more depth bythe physician or referred for a developmental evaluation with a specialist.

1. No 6. No 11. Yes 16. No 21. No 2. NO 7. NO 12. No 17. No 22. Yes 3. No 8. No 13. NO 18. Yes 23. No 4. No 9. NO 14. NO 19. No 5. No 10. No 15. NO 20. Yes