Long wait times have been a persistent issue for families waiting to see an autism specialist since often the wait time for an appointment can often exceed more than one year. ECHO Autism is partnering with the Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders https://thompsoncenter.missouri.edu/autism-training/echo-autism, MU Health www.health.org, and the Missouri Telehealth Network http://medicine2.missouri.edu/telehealth/protocols.html to successfully train primary care providers to diagnose and manage autism spectrum disorders.
Kristin Sohl, Associate Professor of Child Health and Director of ECHO Autism, is preparing to expand the program with the ECHO Autism partner sites serving Alabama, Alaska, and underserved Navajo communities in New Mexico and Arizona. In addition ECHO Autism is also set to expand globally through partner sites in Kenya and autism-specific training sessions are set to be held on an ongoing basis in Uruguay.
Micah Mazurek, Associate Professor of Health Psychology in the School of Health Professions, and Rachel Brown, Professor of Clinical Psychiatry in the MU School of Medicine, co-authored the paper, “ECHO Autism: Using Technology and Mentorship to Bridge Gaps, Increase Access to Care, and Bring Best Practice Autism Care to Primary Care” featured in Clinical Pediatrics http://journals.sage.pub.com/home/cpj.
A video is available for broadcast quality download and reuse. For more information, email Nathan Hurst at hurstn@missouri.edu.