Routine developmental surveillance and screening is the best ways to help ensure ASD is detected and diagnosed early. TRICARE covers Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) for all TRICARE beneficiaries with ASD through the Autism Care Demonstration (ACD).
ASD is a pervasive neurodevelopmental condition characterized by deficits in two major domains:
Impairment is often detected in early childhood sometimes as early as ages three months to two years. However, the degree of impairment varies greatly. If symptoms are mild or being masked by learned compensatory strategies, ASD may go undetected until later in life when social demands exceed the individual’s capacity.
While the exact cause of ASD is unknown, the current scientific consensus suggests that it is caused by a combination of genetic, biological, and environmental variables. The known biological variables involved in causing ASD include complications during pregnancy or birth, maternal exposure to valproate and thalidomide, and/or low maternal folic acid levels. Advanced maternal age is a known genetic variable in causing ASD. Other known statistics show that boys are roughly four times more likely to develop ASD than girls and siblings diagnosed with ASD increases the chance of developing it by 2-8%. Ten percent of children with ASD are also identified as having other genetic disorders. Research supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS) indicates that early-life exposure to air pollution is a risk factor for ASD.
Research shows that early detection and intervention can prevent more serious problems in young adulthood and beyond. Routine developmental surveillance and screening is the best ways to help ensure ASD is detected and diagnosed early. Plus, it helps identify who can be appropriately referred for further evaluation and assessment. Providers should conduct routine developmental surveillance and perform age-appropriate screenings whenever parents or caregivers raise concerns about the child’s developmental progression. Routine developmental screenings are recommended at 9-, 18-, 24-, and 36-months and providers should screen specifically for ASD at 18- and 24-months.