ECHO Autism: Early Intervention Connecting Community Professionals to Increase Access to Best Practice Autism Intervention

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is estimated to affect 1 in 44 children in the United States. Disparities exist related to socioeconomic, racial/ethnic and geographic demographics. Due to the shortages of autism specialists in diagnosis, treatment and education for people with ASD, novel approaches to improve access to best practices are needed to ensure quality services. ECHO Autism: Early Intervention clinic consists of biweekly sessions focused on early identification and management of evidence-based practices for young children with ASD. It is an adaptation of the ECHO Autism clinic that has been proven effective for primary care providers. The clinic provides a safe, virtual learning environment where diverse professionals who work with children at risk or diagnosed with ASD can collaborate and learn together. ECHO Autism: Early Intervention bridges the care gap between autism specialists, community intervention providers, and children with autism to increase capacity for autism intervention best practices in underserved communities. Through participation in this convenient, web-based small group, the providers get specific case guidance on children at risk or diagnosed with autism and share best practices for autism specific interventions. Finally, the clinic connects participants with community resources, and family/caregiver support. In our article, we address the current challenge of access to quality early intervention specific to ASD in rural and underserved communities and how this issue can be addressed through a virtual ECHO Autism clinic. The aim of this concept article is to describe the innovative ECHO Autism: Early Intervention clinic and discuss its benefits and impact in the field.