title: Early Intervention Before Autism Diagnosis in Children Referred to a Regional Autism Clinic.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To determine the prevalence of receipt of early intervention and therapeutic services in children suspected of having possible autism spectrum disorder (ASD) before their diagnostic ASD evaluations.
  
  
  METHODS
  The electronic medical records of all children ≤5 years of age evaluated at a single regional ASD clinic between September 2012 and June 2014 were reviewed. Information regarding type of services, clinical diagnoses, and demographic information was abstracted for each patient.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Five hundred sixty-one children (mean age = 44 mo [SD, 10 mo]; 80% [N = 450] male; 20% [N = 111] female) completed a diagnostic ASD evaluation. Of these children, 497 (89%) were already receiving early intervention services, and only 64 (11%) were not receiving any services. Receipt of services did not vary based on race, ethnicity, insurance type, or primary language. Children who were already receiving services were more likely to receive an ASD diagnosis (67%, N = 332) than those not receiving services (44% [N = 28]; p ≤ .001).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Despite concerns that long wait lists for diagnostic ASD evaluations may delay initiation of critical early interventions, our data indicate that most children are receiving early intervention services before their diagnostic ASD evaluations, particularly if an ASD diagnosis is confirmed. This may be attributable to increased awareness among primary care providers and families of the importance of early interventions. Further investigation into access to more intensive interventions (such as applied behavioral analysis) once an ASD diagnosis is established is warranted.
authors.affiliation: *Section of Developmental Pediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX; †Section of Psychology, Department of Pediatrics, Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, TX.
authors.forename: Sonia A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: Monteiro
authors.forename: Jack
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Dempsey
authors.forename: Stacey
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Broton
authors.forename: Leandra
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Berry
authors.forename: Robin P
authors.initials: RP
authors.lastname: Goin-Kochel
authors.forename: Robert G
authors.initials: RG
authors.lastname: Voigt
mesh_terms: D000554:Ambulatory Care Facilities / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000067877:Autism Spectrum Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy*; D002675:Child, Preschool; D061345:Early Medical Intervention / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D012017:Referral and Consultation / Q000706:statistics & numerical data