Parent Attitudes Towards Using Brain Imaging Technologies for Pre-symptomatic Identification of Autism Spectrum Disorder

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) can be diagnosed by observation of characteristic behaviors that emerge for most children by age 2. In the US, however, most children are not diagnosed until early school-age. Children from lower-income homes, ethnic and racial minority groups, and rural backgrounds are diagnosed later than white children and those with higher SES. Developing objective tools that could identify children likely to develop ASD at younger ages could ameliorate these disparities and allow for earlier intervention. Researchers are using brain imaging technologies, such as EEG and MRI, to identify brain changes in the first year of life that predict later ASD diagnoses. To understand how these emerging technologies would be received by parents, we conducted qualitative interviews with two groups of parents with infants: one group had older children diagnosed with ASD and the other did not. The majority of parents in both groups said they would use brain imaging techniques for pre-symptomatic identification of ASD, though some would only seek testing if already concerned about their infant’s development. Parents additionally reflected on the limitations of existing service systems—including long waitlists for interventions—and the potential negative impacts of receiving an inaccurate prediction. These results have implications for supporting decision making of future parents offered this technology, and offer important insight for the development of equitable policies and practices.

Katherine MacDuffie – Pediatrics – University of Washington School of Medicine