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JOURNAL OF PSICOPATHOLOGY

Psychopathology and Psychotherapy

Vol. 31: Issue 2 - June 2025

Using the SIAHA scale as a screening tool for Level 1 autism spectrum disorder in adulthood: a pilot study

Authors

Roberto Keller , Giovanni Cicinelli , Emanuela Nobile , Erika Borroz , Camilla Rinaldi , Luisella Querella , Alice Chiarle , Cecilia Riccardi , Elena Cocuzza , Alice Visintin , Flavio Vischia , Olga Dal Monte , Francesca Capiotto , Elisa De Bartolo

Key words: autism, diagnosis, psychopathology
Publication Date: 2025-07-31

Abstract

Objective

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in communication and relational skills, associated with repetitive verbal and motor behaviors, restricted patterns of interest, need for a predictable and stable environment, and hypo- or hypersensitivity to sensory inputs.

Even if clinical symptoms are present since early childhood, not rarely this disorder is not diagnosed since adulthood especially in individuals with high functioning autism or Level 1 of functioning. Therefore, this study aimed to pilot test a newly developed screening tool to assist clinicians in detecting this condition both in the general population and in psychiatric patients.

Methods

In this study we have developed and tested a screening tool, the SIAHA (Screening Instrument for Adult with High-Functioning Autism), to assist clinicians, especially those not specialized in ASD, in detecting ASD Level 1. To test the validity of the SIAHA we examined it in three groups: ASD group, a psychopathological group, and a non-clinical group.

Results

From the results obtained by comparing the SIAHA total scores across the different groups, it emerges that this tool could assist psychiatrists in better identifying the presence of basic autism criteria during initial screenings.

Conclusion

The use of the SIAHA could potentially be beneficial in reducing the misdiagnoses often attributed to adult patients with autism.

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Authors

Roberto Keller - Adult autism center, Mental Health Department, Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy; Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

Giovanni Cicinelli - Adult autism center, Mental Health Department, Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy

Emanuela Nobile - Adult autism center, Mental Health Department, Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy

Erika Borroz - Adult autism center, Mental Health Department, Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy

Camilla Rinaldi - Adult autism center, Mental Health Department, Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy

Luisella Querella - North-West Psychiatric Unit, Mental Health Department, Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy

Alice Chiarle - North-West Psychiatric Unit, Mental Health Department, Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy

Cecilia Riccardi - North-West Psychiatric Unit, Mental Health Department, Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy

Elena Cocuzza - North-West Psychiatric Unit, Mental Health Department, Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy

Alice Visintin - North-West Psychiatric Unit, Mental Health Department, Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy

Flavio Vischia - North-West Psychiatric Unit, Mental Health Department, Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy

Olga Dal Monte - North-West Psychiatric Unit, Mental Health Department, Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy

Francesca Capiotto - North-West Psychiatric Unit, Mental Health Department, Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy; Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy

Elisa De Bartolo - Adult autism center, Mental Health Department, Local Health Unit ASL Città di Torino, Turin, Italy

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.

Copyright

Copyright (c) 2025 Journal of Psychopathology

How to Cite
[1]
Keller, R., Cicinelli, G., Nobile, E., Borroz, E., Rinaldi, C., Querella, L., Chiarle, A., Riccardi, C., Cocuzza, E., Visintin, A., Vischia, F., Dal Monte, O., Capiotto, F. and De Bartolo, E. 2025. Using the SIAHA scale as a screening tool for Level 1 autism spectrum disorder in adulthood: a pilot study. Journal of Psychopathology. 31, 2 (Jul. 2025).
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