Thorough clinical child psychiatric diagnostic evaluation and validation of the Autism- Tics, ADHD and other comorbidities inventory (A-TAC) in a population-based sample of 9-year-olds.

Researchers tested a questionnaire called A-TAC that screens for autism, ADHD, tics, and other conditions in 263 nine-year-old children. The questionnaire was quite good at identifying children who might have these conditions when compared to detailed clinical assessments. An important finding was that many children (over 40%) who had one condition also had another. While useful for screening, the questionnaire cannot replace proper clinical evaluation.

This study validated the Autism-Tics, ADHD and other Comorbidities inventory (A-TAC) as a screening tool in 263 Swedish 9-year-olds from a population-based twin study. Participants underwent clinical diagnostic evaluations within one year of A-TAC screening. The tool demonstrated good predictive properties for most neurodevelopmental disorders (AUC 0.806-0.958), except developmental coordination disorder (AUC 0.616). The study found that over 40% of children with one neurodevelopmental disorder also met criteria for at least one additional disorder.

Results confirm A-TAC's utility for population screening but emphasize it cannot replace clinical assessment or determine individual access to specialized care.

A-TAC can effectively screen for neurodevelopmental disorders in population settings but cannot replace clinical evaluation. High comorbidity rates support comprehensive diagnostic approaches. Clinicians should use additional tools for developmental coordination disorder screening.

Study focused on 9-year-olds only, limiting generalizability to other age groups. Sample recruitment method from twin study may not represent general population. Study design type not clearly specified in abstract.

The Autism- Tics, ADHD and other Comorbidities inventory (A-TAC) has been validated in epidemiological data. However, validation against clinical diagnostic assessments in a population-based sample has been lacking, limiting the implications for clinical practice, clinical research and public health decisions. Study participants were recruited from the longitudinal Child and Adolescent Twin Study in Sweden (CATSS) inviting parents to all twins in Sweden. We investigated the psychometric properties of the A-TAC in 263 children, where one or both twins screened positive for neuropsychiatric problems, as well as control pairs, where both twins were screen negative.

Study participants underwent thorough clinical examination within one year of the A-TAC interview. The psychometric properties of the A-TAC were then investigated. We also mapped the extent of comorbidity of neurodevelopmental disorders. Using the A-TAC as screening for neurodevelopmental disorders we could discriminate two groups of children with clearly different occurrences of clinical diagnoses.

The predictive screening properties of the A-TAC were good for most of the neurodevelopmental disorders (AUC ranging from 0.806 to 0.958), with exception for developmental coordination disorder (AUC = 0.616). More than 40% of children fulfilling diagnostic criteria for a neurodevelopmental disorder, also fulfilled diagnostic criteria for at least one other neurodevelopmental disorder. This study confirms the utility of the A-TAC interview as a screening tool for neuropsychiatric disorders in a non-clinical sample. It also supports the necessity to maintain a broad diagnostic approach in clinical child psychiatric investigations for meaningful understanding of the child's problems.

Although, A-TAC can be informative on neurodevelopmental problems in both clinical and population-based samples, it cannot replace a clinical neurodevelopmental investigation or be used to delimit individual access to specialized care.