From Waiting to Action: Why the Autism Field Must Embrace Efficient Service Delivery Models for Diagnostic Assessment

Area of Science:

• Developmental Pediatrics
• Child Psychology
• Healthcare Management

Background:

• Long waiting lists for autism evaluations delay diagnosis and early intervention.
• Current diagnostic pathways are resource-intensive, relying on limited specialists and contributing to delays.

Purpose of the Study:

• To address the crisis of long autism evaluation wait times.
• To guide clinicians and policymakers on updating the standard of care for early autism assessment.
• To evaluate the benefits and drawbacks of efficient diagnostic models.

Main Methods:

• Review of evidence supporting efficient diagnostic models (telehealth, primary care, tiered approaches).
• Analysis of five core issues: consequences of the status quo, family priorities, evidence for efficiency, accuracy concerns, and assessment depth.
• Contention that advantages of efficient models outweigh disadvantages.

Main Results:

• Efficient diagnostic models, including telehealth and primary care, show promise in reducing barriers to autism assessment.
• The benefits of adopting efficient service delivery models are substantial.
• Collaboration and trust in family insights are key to increasing diagnostic capacity.

Conclusions:

• Updated standards of care incorporating efficient autism diagnostic models are recommended.
• Actionable recommendations are provided for clinicians and policymakers to support the adoption of these models.
• Streamlining the diagnostic process is crucial for timely access to early intervention services.