Creating a More Efficient and Equitable Autism Evaluation Pathway Through Integrated Behavioral Health in Pediatric...

Area of Science:

• Pediatric Primary Care
• Behavioral Health Integration
• Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnostics

Background:

• Long wait times for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) evaluations delay early intervention.
• Hispanic and non-English speaking families face disproportionate access barriers.
• Integrated behavioral health models in pediatrics can improve early identification and reduce inequities.

Purpose of the Study:

• To implement and evaluate a tiered, integrated autism screening and diagnostic pathway in pediatric primary care.
• To improve early identification and streamline referrals for children at risk for ASD.
• To reduce diagnostic delays and inequities in access to specialty care.

Main Methods:

• Implementation of a tiered pathway embedding behavioral health consultation and secondary autism screening for children aged 0-3.
• Expedited referrals for at-risk children to specialty evaluations using gold-standard tools in English and Spanish.
• Program evaluation comparing wait times, referral completion, and service connection with historical controls.

Main Results:

• The clinical pathway is active with ongoing data collection; outcome data are pending.
• Early implementation shows feasibility of integrating secondary autism screening and care coordination.
• Behavioral health integration plays a key role in addressing delays in accessing specialty services.

Conclusions:

• A tiered, integrated autism evaluation pathway in primary care shows potential to reduce diagnostic delays.
• This model can improve equity and enhance family-centered care for children with ASD.
• Ongoing evaluation findings will guide refinement and replication in other primary care settings.