The PRIMA-PIETRA Project: A Web-Based Platform for Early Autism Risk Assessment

It is well recognized that the best outcomes in autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are achieved through early diagnosis and early intervention. ASD symptoms may occur as early as 12-18 months and different instruments have been developed for early autism risk assessment under the age of 2 years. The Modified Checklist for Autism in Children (M-CHAT) is a developmental surveillance-screening instrument administered during 18- to 36-month well-child visits that was demonstrated to improve early identification of autism. Novel technologies can substantially contribute to improve early diagnosis in ASD, providing early screening risk assessment platforms, unobtrusive measurements of behaviors and physiological responses, as well as brain structure and connectivity, or other measurable stimulus-event experimental paradigms. The Prima Pietra Project based at the Pervasive Healthcare Center of the Institute of Clinical Physiology of the National Research Council of Italy (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, C.N.R.) and the AOU Polyclinic "G. Martino" in Messina developed and provided an early autism risk assessment web-based platform for pediatricians and physicians available on the internet.