title: Children's compliance with American Academy of Pediatrics' well-child care visit guidelines and the early detection of autism.
abstract: This study estimated compliance with American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) guidelines for well-child care and the association between compliance and age at diagnosis in a national sample of Medicaid-enrolled children with autism (N = 1,475). Mixed effects linear regression was used to assess the relationship between compliance and age at diagnosis. Mean age at diagnosis was 37.4 (SD 8.4) months, and mean compliance was 55 % (SD 33 %). Children whose care was compliant with AAP guidelines were diagnosed 1.6 months earlier than children who received no well-child care. Findings support that the timely receipt of well-child care may contribute to earlier detection. Additional research on the contribution of compliance, well-child visit components and provider characteristics on the timely diagnosis of autism is needed.
authors.affiliation: Autism Speaks, 1 East 33rd Street, 4th Floor, New York, NY, 10016, USA, amy.daniels@autismspeaks.org.
authors.forename: Amy M
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Daniels
authors.forename: David S
authors.initials: DS
authors.lastname: Mandell
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D002648:Child; D002654:Child Care / Q000592:standards*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D042241:Early Diagnosis; D005260:Female; D019983:Guideline Adherence; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D008297:Male; D010808:Physical Examination; D017410:Practice Guidelines as Topic; D014481:United States