Catherine Lord

Intellectual property rights (e.g., royalties, patents, copyrights) not from the awardee Institution

Mobilizing Community Systems to Engage Families in Early ASD Detection & Services

The federal mandate for early intervention (EI) in our country is unfulfilled. According to the Annual Report to Congress on the implementation of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA; 2012), less than 20% of children who will go on to require special education at school age are receiving EI services under 3 years of age. The limitation of the identification process for young children is among the most critical issues faced by our country in the efforts to implement the IDEA. To address this, we will compare the effectiveness of universal screening by 3 community service systems using a highly interactive web platform that includes an automated screening tool, information about autism for families, and a professional development course on the early signs of autism and effective evidence-based practice using extensive video footage to rapidly build the capacity for early detection. We will also conduct a multisite pragmatic randomized clinical trial to test the effectiveness of a evidence-based Family Engagement Intervention (F) compared to Enhanced Standard Care (S) implemented by the 3 community service systems with children who have a positive ASD screen to increase the number of children who are screened, referred for evaluation, receive a diagnosis, and receive community-based EI between 18-27 months of age. This study will impact family engagement in community screening and diagnosis by demonstrating the effectiveness of brief manualized engagement interventions. Findings will advance science by providing researchers with a method for recruiting a community sample, allowing for research at younger ages, which could accelerate science.