TY - JOUR
AU - S. Habayeb
AU - A. Inge
AU - E. Eisenman
AU - S. Godovich
AU - M. Lauer
AU - A. Hastings
AU - V. Fuentes
AU - M. Long
AU - X. Marshall
AU - A. Khuu
AU - L. Godoy
A1 - 
AB - Primary care providers often screen for autism during well child visits in the first few years of life and refer children for diagnostic evaluations when needed. However, most children do not receive a diagnosis until years later which delays access to services. Racism, socioeconomic status, and other systemic inequalities that limit access to health care further delay diagnostic evaluations. Mental health clinicians who work in primary care clinics can help address barriers to accessing diagnostic evaluation services once they are recommended by their primary care provider. However, mental health clinicians who work in primary care typically do not have training in diagnosing autism. The goal of this study was to evaluate a program training mental health professionals working in an urban primary care setting, primarily serving Black and Latinx families insured by Medicaid, to provide autism diagnostic evaluations. Two hundred and fifty children completed evaluations through the Autism in Primary Care (APC) program. The wait time to access an evaluation through APC was significantly shorter than through standard avenues of care (e.g. referring to a separate autism clinic). Referring primary care providers and caregivers endorsed high levels of satisfaction with the program. Conducting autism evaluations in primary care settings offers a promising opportunity to improve earlier diagnosis and treatment access for families, reduce inequities in care, and increase caregiver and child well-being.
AD - Children's National Hospital, USA.
AN - 38907720
BT - Autism
C5 - Healthcare Disparities; Education & Workforce
CP - 1
DA - Jan
DO - 10.1177/13623613241260800
DP - NLM
ET - 20240622
IS - 1
JF - Autism
LA - eng
N2 - Primary care providers often screen for autism during well child visits in the first few years of life and refer children for diagnostic evaluations when needed. However, most children do not receive a diagnosis until years later which delays access to services. Racism, socioeconomic status, and other systemic inequalities that limit access to health care further delay diagnostic evaluations. Mental health clinicians who work in primary care clinics can help address barriers to accessing diagnostic evaluation services once they are recommended by their primary care provider. However, mental health clinicians who work in primary care typically do not have training in diagnosing autism. The goal of this study was to evaluate a program training mental health professionals working in an urban primary care setting, primarily serving Black and Latinx families insured by Medicaid, to provide autism diagnostic evaluations. Two hundred and fifty children completed evaluations through the Autism in Primary Care (APC) program. The wait time to access an evaluation through APC was significantly shorter than through standard avenues of care (e.g. referring to a separate autism clinic). Referring primary care providers and caregivers endorsed high levels of satisfaction with the program. Conducting autism evaluations in primary care settings offers a promising opportunity to improve earlier diagnosis and treatment access for families, reduce inequities in care, and increase caregiver and child well-being.
PY - 2025
SN - 1362-3613
SP - 259
EP - 264+
ST - Short report: Integrated evaluations for autism spectrum disorder in pediatric primary care clinics
T1 - Short report: Integrated evaluations for autism spectrum disorder in pediatric primary care clinics
T2 - Autism
TI - Short report: Integrated evaluations for autism spectrum disorder in pediatric primary care clinics
U1 - Healthcare Disparities; Education & Workforce
U3 - 10.1177/13623613241260800
VL - 29
VO - 1362-3613
Y1 - 2025
ER -