Wyoming ASD Screening Project & Montana Autism Plan Makanda Smith Kinley Garfield Julia Hammond Jeremy John Darcy Regan

Challenge  Age at diagnosis is critical  Role of pediatricians  Barriers to screening  Screening practices vary by state  Grants needed to improve screening, evaluation, and enrollment in EI

Objectives 1: Identify the screening approaches/methods of pediatricians in MT and WY  Tools, training, referrals 2: Determine the prevalence of screening for ASD in MT and WY 3: Identify barriers to ASD screening for pediatricians in MT and WY

Respondent demographics Survey responsesN (out of 7) Practice in rural setting7 <5 yr experience yr experience1 15+ yr experience5 Experience in providing medical home for children with ASD 6

Screening practices If you use a validated autism specific screening tool, but not at every 18 and 24 month visit, when is it used? N (out of 7) I use a validated autism screening tool at every 18- and 24-month visit 2 I use a validated autism screening tool only at the 18-month visit 4 “Other”1 MCHAT is the only screening tool I use6 (2 trained to use MCHAT)

Barriers Survey responsesN (out of 7) Able to provide routine preventative care 5 Able to address early behavioral/developmental concerns 5 Able to make appropriate referrals for diagnostic evaluation 5 Knowledge of community support services 5 Able to provide advice about complementary and alternative therapies for ASD 6

Barriers Survey responsesN (out of 7) Lack of community resources 4 Lack of time during visits5 Lack of provider education4 Families hesitant about vaccines 3 Lack of guidelines4 Lack of multidisciplinary dataset 4

Limitations  Convenience sample  Limited sample  Generalizability

Future Directions  Address follow-up outcome after screenings  Gather baseline information about screening, evaluation, and EI enrollment for future grant applications

Acknowledgements  Bill MacLean  Bethany Rigles  Jenni Roedel  Lisa Wilson  Faculty Mentors: James Bekker, Bill MacLean, Stephanie McVicar, Janice Palumbos, Bethany Rigles

Questions?

Collaborations in AAC Darcy Regan  Pre-professional training  “Loaner Mentalities”  “Provider Insecurities”  Time Constraints  25 hours direct service to children on autism spectrum  PDCs  In-person South Main Presentation (Ogletree, 2012)

URLEND Experience Kinley Garfield  Favorite Experiences  Clinic visits and interactions with HCPs  South Main presentation  PDCs  Family mentorship experience  Snacks at seminars (thank you Amy!)  Suggestion  Encourage journaling (count toward clinical hours?)

URLEND Experience Makanda Smith Favorite Experiences  Clinical observations  Seminars  Family Mentorship Project  PDCs….  Pretty much all of it! Suggestions Just a few little things….  Sorting through e- mail takes a LONG time – can s be minimized?  The end of the year projects seem to all come at once – can they be spread out?

URLEND Experience Jeremy John Favorite Experiences  Observing coordinated care delivery  Meeting other professionals  PDC’s Suggestions  End of year – very hectic finale of assignments

 Clinic week visit in SLC was such a unique and great experience for my personal and professional development!  Creating a separate tab for the assignments was very helpful. I recommend doing this in the future for the entire year. This supported our leadership development because it minimized confusion and clarified expectations. Likes/Suggestions for Improvement Julia Hammond