The efficacy of the Australian Disability Employment Services (DES) for autistic jobseekers has not been examined and is currently undergoing Government reform. To help inform the new DES strategy, we sought the views of: 24 autistic individuals; seven family members of autistic individuals, and; 46 DES employees. Data were collected using surveys…

Purpose: We used data from the National Survey of Children's Health to (1) examine differences in economic hardship and safety net program use after the implementation of federal relief efforts, and (2) assess whether the COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated autism-based disparities in hardship and program use. Methods: We examined five dimensions of…

Given existing barriers to a timely autism diagnosis, this study compares the efficiency and equity of diagnoses conducted in-person vs. telehealth in a developmental behavioral pediatrics setting. The transition to telehealth was prompted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Eleven months of clinic data in electronic medical records were retrospectively…

Using the 2008-2013 Medicaid Analytic eXtract files, this retrospective cohort study was to evaluate the effect of Medicaid home and community-based services (HCBS) waiver programs on emergency department (ED) utilizations among youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Our study showed that the annual ED utilization rates were 13.5% and 18.8%…

The study aims to develop and pilot a telehealth social emotional program, MindChip™ delivered with a computer based interventions (CBI) (Mind Reading©) for autistic adults. MindChip™ combined four theoretical perspectives and community feedback underpinning the essential mechanisms for targeting the social emotional understanding of autistic…

The pediatric developmental passport was created to aid service navigation for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A pilot-randomized-control trial was conducted at two developmental clinics. The intervention group received the Passport card versus the control group who received the placebo card. Primary outcome was the proportion of…

Services for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families have evolved with the advent of the Medicaid waiver, leading to more family-based coordination of care. Evaluating family involvement, the current investigation compared 230 families of children with ASD receiving Medicaid waiver services to a propensity-score matched…

Nepalese Female Community Health Volunteers' (FCHVs) knowledge on social attention and communication development and the early signs of autism was evaluated before, immediately after, and 12-months following training on typical and atypical social-communicative development in infants/toddlers, early signs of autism, and monitoring of key…

Comprehensive reviews of the research literature have identified that focused intervention practices for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder have evidence of producing positive developmental and learning outcomes. The Autism Focused Intervention Resources and Modules (AFIRM) project has translated evidence-based practices identified…

Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS) Waivers provide support and services to families with a child/youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Research indicates HCBS Waivers are positively related to family quality of life (FQoL) and Child Progress. This study replicated and expanded prior research using propensity score matching of 460…

Youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are psychiatrically hospitalized at high rates. Though specialized psychiatric units are effective, few specialized units exist. The ASD Care Pathway (ASD-CP) was developed as a scalable approach to improving care in general psychiatric units through staff training and a package of autism-specific…

The purpose of this study was to examine the psychometric properties of the "Autism Program Environment Rating Scale" ("APERS"), an instrument designed to assess quality of program environments for students with autism spectrum disorder. Data sets from two samples of public school programs that provided services to children and…

This paper presents findings from a retrospective observational records review study that compares the outcomes associated with implementation of supported employment (SE) with and without prior Project SEARCH with ASD Supports (PS-ASD) on wages earned, time spent in intervention, and job retention. Results suggest that SE resulted in competitive…

State-specific 1915(c) Medicaid Home and Community-Based Services waiver programs have become central in the provision of services specifically tailored to children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Using propensity score matching, 130 families receiving waiver services for a child with ASD were matched with and compared to 130 families…