Title : Awareness to action: Enhancing autism healthcare access
Abstract:
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder defined by impairments in communication and social skills, restricted interests, and repetitive activities and behaviors. The prevalence of ASD has continued to rise, with 2020 statistics showing that around 1 in every 36 children in the United States has a diagnosis of ASD.The purpose of this brief is to analyze the current healthcare landscape for individuals with autism, explore factors that cause a decrease in access to care from childhood to adulthood, as well as propose solutions that will allow individuals with ASD to obtain healthcare throughout their lifetimes. The proposed solutions include supporting families in the transition from youth to adulthood. Provide transition training to pediatricians, who are often at the center of care for these families. Additionally, the paper explores how to increase the number of adult providers who treat ASD. Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) videoconferencing model of education connects specialists to primary care physicians, equipping and educating them to provide evidence-based care to individuals with ASD.
The findings of the paper show that transition planning increases healthcare utilization, population health, and independence in youth with special needs. The ECHO model has previously allowed patients to feel more comfortable with their physicians and physicians to feel more confident when treating patients. Continuing evidence-based interventions in adults with ASD lead to improved health and communication, reduced repetitive behaviors, higher education, and meaningful employment. Lack of healthcare has negative effects on functioning into adulthood; delays in treatment increase the use of resources in adulthood, including increased number of acute destabilizations and emergency service use. Furthermore, models such as ECHO are already helping decrease disparities faced in underserved ASD communities, and transition care planning is successfully being used in other youth with special needs, such as ADHD.
Audience Takeaway Notes:
- The audience will learn why continued care of adults with ASD is important.
- The audience will learn about limitations to healthcare access faced by individuals with ASD.
- The audience will learn about methods to expand healthcare access to adults with ASD, including models of education currently in use.
