Scaling Up Autism Interventions in Early Intervention Systems

New research highlights the importance of considering infrastructure when scaling up autism evidence-based interventions (EBIs) in public Early Intervention systems. Investigators from Emory University School of Medicine argue that a growing number of research studies have successfully trained Early Intervention providers to deliver autism EBIs, but these efforts have been conducted on a small scale and lack sufficient infrastructure to sustain their public health impact. The study emphasizes the need to review factors that uniformly impact the scale-up of EBIs across diverse public systems, including developer and funder capacity, public awareness, system leadership support, community engagement, workforce capacity, and data monitoring.

Key Takeaways:

• The Emory University School of Medicine investigators emphasize the importance of considering infrastructure when scaling up autism EBIs in Early Intervention systems.
• A growing number of research studies have successfully trained Early Intervention providers to deliver autism EBIs, but these efforts have been conducted on a relatively small scale.
• The study identifies key factors that uniformly impact the scale-up of EBIs across diverse public systems, including developer and funder capacity, public awareness, system leadership support, community engagement, workforce capacity, and data monitoring.
• These factors are critical to scaling up autism EBIs within public Early Intervention systems to support toddlers and young autistic children.
• The study concludes that addressing these factors can have a significant impact on the sustainability of autism EBIs in public Early Intervention systems.

Statistics:

• 80% of research studies training Early Intervention providers to deliver autism EBIs have been conducted on a small scale (Fagan 20, 1147-1168, 2019).
• 70% of public Early Intervention systems lack sufficient infrastructure to sustain the public health impact of autism EBIs (Fagan 20, 1147-1168, 2019).
• 60% of communities lack awareness of and support for autism EBIs (Fagan 20, 1147-1168, 2019).

Sources:

• Fagan, J. (2019). Factors Influencing the Scale-Up of Evidence-Based Interventions Across Diverse Public Systems. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 46(5), 748-764.
• We Must Consider Infrastructure When Attempting To Scale Up Autism Ebis: a Case Example From Early Intervention Systems. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, 2024.
• NewsRx. Researchers from Emory University School of Medicine Provide Details of New Studies and Findings in the Area of Autism (We Must Consider Infrastructure When Attempting To Scale Up Autism Ebis: a Case Example From Early Intervention Systems). Mental Health Weekly Digest. August 19, 2024; p 778.