Screening Tools

Child

The Childhood Autism Spectrum Test (CAST)

Age 3 - 11

How to fill out the questionnaire
Please read the following questions carefully, and select the appropriate answer.
YesNo
1Does s/he join in playing games with other children easily?
2Does s/he come up to you spontaneously for a chat?
3Was s/he speaking by 2 years old?
4Does s/he enjoy sports?
5Is it important to him/her to fit in with the peer group?
6Does s/he appear to notice unusual details that others miss?
7Does s/he tend to take things literally?
8When s/he was 3 years old, did s/he spend a lot of time pretending (e.g., play-acting being a superhero, or holding teddy’s tea parties)?
9Does s/he like to do things over and over again,in the same way all the time?
10Does s/he find it easy to interact with other children?
11Can s/he keep a two-way conversation going?
12Can s/he read appropriately for his/her age?
13Does s/he mostly have the same interests as his/her peers?
14Does s/he have an interest which takes up so much time that s/he does little else?
15Does s/he have friends, rather than just acquaintances?
16Does s/he often bring you things s/he is interested in to show you?
17Does s/he enjoy joking around?
18Does s/he have difficulty understanding the rules for polite behaviour?
19Does s/he appear to have an unusual memory for details?
20Is his/her voice unusual (e.g., overly adult, flat, or very monotonous)?
21Are people important to him/her?
22Can s/he dress him/herself?
23Is s/he good at turn-taking in conversation?
24Does s/he play imaginatively with other children, and engage in role-play?
25Does s/he often do or say things that are tactless or socially inappropriate?
26Can s/he count to 50 without leaving out any numbers?
27Does s/he make normal eye-contact?
28Does s/he have any unusual and repetitive movements?
29Is his/her social behaviour very one-sided and always on his/her own terms?
30Does s/he sometimes say “you” or “s/he” when s/he means “I”?
31Does s/he prefer imaginative activities such as play-acting or story-telling, rather than numbers or lists of facts?
32Does s/he sometimes lose the listener because of not explaining what s/he is talking about?
33Can s/he ride a bicycle (even if with stabilisers)?
34Does s/he try to impose routines on him/herself, or on others, in such a way that it causes problems?
35Does s/he care how s/he is perceived by the rest of the group?
36Does s/he often turn conversations to his/her favourite subject rather than following what the other person wants to talk about?
37Does s/he have odd or unusual phrases?