{"href":"http://player.captivate.fm/services/oembed?url=http%3A%2F%2Fplayer.captivate.fm%2Fepisode%2Fe9dbe371-185c-4097-8690-e2c3938ef8b4","version":"1.0","provider_name":"Captivate.FM","provider_url":"https://www.captivate.fm","width":600,"height":200,"type":"rich","html":"","title":"Research Review: ASD Screening and Referral Guidelines","description":"Welcome back to another episode on \u201cwhat the AUTISM?!\u201d This podcast is for anyone who is struggling with understanding what autism is and how we can better empower our autism community through research proven methods. In each episode, I will be sharing with you ground-breaking research and how the diagnosis of autism can often be misunderstood. If you are a new listener to our podcast, I highly recommend you start from episode 1 to catch you up to speed on various terminology and concepts! Now let\u2019s get started\u2026\n\nToday I wanted to talk about a research article that was published back in May 2020. It\u2019s titled \u201cAdherence to Screening and Referral Guidelines for Autism Spectrum Disorder in Toddlers in Pediatric Primary Care.\u201d If you would like to follow along while listening to the podcast or if you\u2019d like to review this study at another time, I have left a PDF file of this research study on our Facebook page. \n\nBut the objective of this study was to identify and study the various factors that are associated with doctors/physicians completing a follow-up interview and referring families to the appropriate next step in services after the initial screening for autism. The American Academy of Pediatrics (also referred to as AAP) recommends that all young children are screened for the autism spectrum disorder (ASD) during their regular check ups with their pediatrician. But a common concern that has been discussed is the disparities in the ASD diagnosis and intervention across children of minority. This research study goes into depth on some potential contributors and some possible things to consider when we discuss the diagnosing of autism and the immediate next steps taken by physicians in their recommendations and referrals.\n\nPrior studies that examined referrals after developmental screening suggest that patient characteristics such as race, ethnicity, or gender may influence physicians\u2019 responses. One specific study which I\u2019ll also include on our facebook page, found that a girl with language delays was 60% more likely than a boy with similar symptoms to audiology. Among a sample of very-low-birthweight infants who are eligible for early intervention services, referrals were much lower among children of black mothers, mothers without private insurance, or from towns with higher poverty rates. \n\nSo in today\u2019s research study, the researchers examined a group of children with positive results in their screening to estimate rates of completion of follow up interviews and the physicians\u2019 adherence to AAP guidelines in referring patients to early intervention services, audiology, and/or for an ASD evaluation immediately. In this particular study, the screening that was provided was a M-CHAT-F which is a parent-report tool that involves 23 \"yes/no\" questions about a child\u2019s behaviors to determine their risk of ASD. There is also a SWYC Milestones questionnaires that includes 10 age-specific questions to evaluate children\u2019s attainment of motor, cognitive, and language skills. As part of routine care, caregivers completed both of these questionnaires and screening measures on an electronic tablet or through an electronic patient portal prior to their visitation with their physician. I won\u2019t dig too far into the specific methods and measurements, but I did want to review the results of this study with you for us to have some type of dialogue of what this could mean for your child if you are questioning potential diagnosis of autism. \n\nThe results of this study found that there are multiple factors associated with increased likelihood of follow-up interviews being completed. The research study includes very easy charts and tables that break down the various factors, such as ethnicities, genders, etc and the percentage of each population group that are provided with follow up interviews.\n\nFrom this study, researchers found that despite a high rate of screening across pediatric primary care, the level of adherence to guidelines for...","thumbnail_width":300,"thumbnail_height":300,"thumbnail_url":"https://artwork.captivate.fm/f02f73f3-4f44-4aad-b12c-6c6db09c439a/uxtznrdagt6y8gnzodxdeb7v.jpeg"}