The CAST (Childhood Asperger and Syndrome Test) - Test accuracy

The Childhood Asperger Syndrome Test (CAST) is a KEYWORDS parental questionnaire to screen for autism spectrum conditions. In autistic this validation study, the CAST was distributed to 1925 children aged disorders; 5-11 in mainstream Cambridgeshire schools. A sample of participants childhood received a full diagnostic assessment, conducted blind to screen status. e sensitivity of the CAST, at a designated cut-point of 15 was 100, percent, the specificity was 97 percent and the positive predictive value disorders; was 50 percent, using the group's consensus diagnosis as the gold pervasive standard. The accuracy indices varied with the case definition used. The disorders; sensitivity of the accuracy statistics to case definition and to missing screening data was explored. The CAST is useful as a screening test for autism spectrum conditions in epidemiological research. There is not currently enough evidence to recommend the use of the CAST as a screening test within a public health screening programme in the general population.