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The prevalence rates for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have plateaued, according to the recent results from the Center for Disease Control, stating that 1 in 58 children in Utah is diagnosed with ASD. Though it is not a significant improvement from an earlier report of 1 in 54 children, the numbers indicate that Utah is not seeing the consistent increase that we had seen previously.
However, these numbers still indicate that there are a large number of families in Utah who have a child with ASD and need support and services. And with a large number comes a long wait for services and support.
Waiting game
Many pediatricians screen for autism at the 18-month check-up. If a pediatrician refers a family for further testing to determine if ASD is an accurate diagnosis, families can wait for months, maybe over a year, to get that second assessment.
Once they finally complete the assessment and receive a diagnosis, these families reach out to various programs and services where, unfortunately, they likely end up on another waitlist.
A solution
Many parents of children with autism are beginning to look for at-home programs. One such program comes from the Carmen B. Pingree Autism Center for Learning. Its program is intended to get testing, diagnoses and services to families who are on a waitlist and need critical treatment for their child immediately. It can also be helpful as an at-home supplement to school or day treatment programs.
Parents also receive the training and tools to help their child progress. These tools include access to a web-based curriculum (Rethink) —which uses the principles of applied behavior analysis (ABA) — and an alternative communication program (CoughDrop) — which provides children with limited language abilities to communicate on a phone, tablet or computer.
With ongoing support, families will target critical skills for their child to learn and address any behaviors that are impacting the child or family. By receiving training and ongoing support with using ABA, parents will be empowered to become the catalyst for change for their child.
To learn more visit www.pingreeautism.org.
