Comparative cross-sectional analysis of the Griffiths III and the Developmental Autism Early Screening (DAES) test in children with neurodevelopmental disorders

BACKGROUND: Global Developmental Delay (DD) and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), are neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs) characterized by early impairments in communication, cognition, and socio-emotional functioning. Early identification remains challenging due to symptom heterogeneity and overlaps across conditions. We aimed to investigate possible differences in the early developmental profiles among children aged 18 to 48 months at risk for NDDs using the Griffiths Mental Development Scales (Griffiths III) and the Developmental Autism Early Screening (DAES), an observational and interactive Level 2 screening tool. METHODS: Significant differences across the developmental domains assessed with the Griffiths III and the DAES were examined by comparing children referred for risk of ASD or DD with a control group of typically developing children (CTRL). A total of 310 participants were enrolled. Sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value (PPV), and negative predictive value (NPV) of the DAES total score were calculated. Spearman's rank correlation was used to assess the association between the DAES total score and the ADOS-2 Calibrated Severity Score (CSS). RESULTS: Significant differences emerged between groups across the Griffiths III subscales, with the most pronounced impairments observed in the Language and Communication (p < 0.00001) and Personal-Social-Emotional (p < 0.00001) domains. DAES total scores significantly differentiated the groups, with the highest scores recorded in the ASD cohort with respect to DD (p = 0.0004) and CTRL (p = 0.00001). Notably, higher DAES scores were associated with greater ASD symptom severity as measured by the ADOS-2 CSS (p = 0.013). CONCLUSION: The study highlights the clinical value of using Griffiths III and the DAES to support the early identification of children at risk for ASD compared with those with developmental delay (DD) and typical development. Integrating these measures into routine clinical assessment may improve the early detection of atypical developmental trajectories and guide individualized intervention planning during critical periods of neurodevelopment.