smashzone wrote:
Reporter: A team of scientists has recently devised a new test that for the first time accurately diagnoses autism in children as young as 18 months old. When used to evaluate 16,000 children at their 18-month checkup, the test correctly diagnosed all 10 children later confirmed to be autistic, though it also wrongly identified 2 children as autistic. Autistic children can therefore now benefit much earlier in life than before from the treatments already available.
Which one of the following is an assumption on which the reporter's argument depends?
Argument - A new test that can detect autism in children as young as 18 months old.
Accuracy of 80% in a sample test of 16000 children.
Conclusion - Children can benefit much earlier in life than before.
Note: Here, the argument is talking about children benefiting earlier in life - means if previously the treatment started at 24 months old age, now the treatment can start at 19 months old age.
This is possible only if the data generated from the tests can be used for the treatment.
(A) No test intended for diagnosing autism at such an early age existed before the new test was devised.
- This is same information as presented in the passage. Even though assumption does not demand new information per say, a existing statement in the passage can never act as an assumption.
- Wrong
(B) A diagnostic test that sometimes falsely gives a positive diagnosis can still provide a reasonable basis for treatment decisions.
- As stated in the note, we are trying to find a relation that can relate the test results with treatment. The choice states that even if the accuracy is not high, the test results can serve as a reliable data to start the treatment.
- Thus now, children can avail the treatment even when they are 18 months old compared to previous case, when they could avail the treatment at a much elder age.
- Correct
(C) The new test can be used to evaluate all children regardless of the level of development of their verbal skills.
- Verbal skills may be related to autism in real scenario. But we need to stick to the argument.
- What parameters the test uses is out of the scope of this argument
- Wrong
(D) Those children incorrectly identified as autistic will not be adversely affected by treatments aimed at helping autistic children.
- I differ with many of the explanations posted here.
- This choice states that the 20% of incorrectly tested children will not be adversely affected.
- The conclusion is about the "time of start of treatment". The conclusion is not about whether the children can benefit from the treatments. Hence, the effect of the treatment on normal people is immaterial.
-
Please do correct me if there is a fault in my interpretation (E) There was no reliable evidence that autism could affect children so young until the advent of the new test.
- Similar to option A, this choice repeats the information provided in the passage
- Wrong