Sept 4, 2018, Disability Scoop (Missouri): Doctor Training Program Speeds Autism Diagnosis https://www.disabilityscoop.com/2018/09/04/doctor-training-speeds-autism/25449/ Training primary care providers to accurately diagnose autism is yielding big dividends, researchers say, allowing children on the spectrum to be identified and start treatment far sooner. Through a combination of in-person sessions and remote, video-based coaching over the course of a year, 18 primary care providers working across the state of Missouri learned to diagnose and treat autism….
“All participants reported that they had changed their practice as a result of participation in the program and they felt confident in their abilities to screen and diagnose autism early on, which is incredibly beneficial to families,” said Kristin Sohl of the University of Missouri-Columbia who directs the ECHO Autism program and is an author of the study…. “Most health care providers who participated in the program said they saw an uptick in patients with autism in their practices and indicated that by the end of the program they were accepting referrals for autism evaluations from other providers, the study found. “The researchers said their findings support additional study of the training model on a larger scale.”