Needs Statement 

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) affects 1 in 36 children. This high prevalence combined with a severe workforce shortage of clinicians who can diagnose and treat children with ASD has led to long wait times for evaluation. Insurance companies and government supported intervention programs require a diagnosis of ASD to obtain autism specific services, and therefore, these long wait times lead to significant delays in children obtaining key services early. However, due to the excessive wait times, primary care clinicians (PCC) are now being called upon to make ASD diagnoses after training with a variety of models varying in intensity. Developmental Behavioral Pediatricians receive three years of specialty fellowship training related to child development, of which assessment of ASD is a major component.

The educational series is a 9-session curriculum designed to train PCCs to diagnose children between 18-36 months with a high risk of ASD, defined as failing an autism screen or a high level of clinician concern. The program has already been implemented at Boston Children’s Hospital for the past 2 years. Clinicians should feel more satisfied and confident in their abilities to diagnose children with ASD and less likely to feel the need to refer young children who they confidently feel meet criteria for ASD for diagnostic evaluation. Finally, it is hoped that caregivers will feel very confident and pleased to have PCCs perform diagnostic evaluations and the time to receive intensified Early Intervention and ASD services will be reduced.

Targer Audience

This activity is intended for pediatric primary care clinicians.

Educational Objectives

At the conclusion of this activity, the participant should be able to:

• Identify early signs of autism spectrum disorder in children under 3 years of age.
• Apply structured observational techniques and select and implement evidence-based assessment tools such as the CARS-2ST.
• Diagnose autism clearly while delivering tailored recommendations to families, ensuring they comprehend and are supported in taking next steps for early intervention.

Educational Methods

Lecture, Videos, Other

Evaluation

Evaluation by questionnaire will address program content, presentation, and possible bias.

Course Directors

Holly Harris, MD - hkhodges@texaschildrens.org

Nikki Gambhir, MBChB, MSPH - nikki.gambhir@bcm.edu

Course Coordinator

Wendy Amparo Cantu Delgado, MD - wendyamparo.cantudelgado@bcm.edu