Autism Spectrum Disorder in Rural Georgia: Education and Resources

项目总结 自闭症谱系障碍(ASD)是一种以非典型社交交流为特征的疾病， 僵化的思维和日益普遍的重复行为，每隔一年就有一人 符合诊断标准的儿童54例。ASD的体征和症状可以在他们的 表现，从相对轻微的损害到足够严重的症状，它们可以防止 自闭症患者不能独立生活。社会支持与早期干预治疗 然而，可以显着改善几种ASD症状的严重程度。值得注意的是， 年龄越小的儿童，当治疗和干预开始时，他们就会越有效 最终是这样的。虽然儿童在18个月大的时候就可以可靠地被诊断出患有自闭症，但 确诊时的平均年龄为4.5岁，这意味着患有自闭症的儿童经常错过 缺乏诊断的治疗机会。延迟诊断在以下方面尤其常见 来自农村社区的儿童。调查导致ASD延迟的可能原因的研究 在农村社区的诊断发现，缺乏父母对自闭症的知识， 临床医生诊断患有自闭症的幼儿，缺乏采取措施的知识 对孩子进行自闭症检测是一个重要因素。为了解决与ASD相关的问题 为了解决农村社区的不平等问题，我们创建了一个网页，致力于帮助家庭和 受ASD影响的个体在诊断过程中导航。我们的网页将用户定向到ASD “入职‘组织，也有寻找早期干预疗法的资源 中心附近的家庭社区，提供财务资源的链接，并链接到 以社区为基础的支持组织。我们想把我们的网页扩展成一个在线 ASD工具包，将由有ASD儿童的农村家庭审查。我们的工具包将 还为家庭提供了通过以下方式征求家庭意见来指导内容创建的机会 用户反馈问题和焦点小组。ASD工具包的目标是创建一个简单的 佐治亚州农村生活和管理自闭症的使用指南 受自闭症影响的家庭。我们还将创建一个关于ASD诊断和 为乡村医生提供的资源，将从受自闭症影响的家庭的投入中获得信息。我们 将通过用户反馈问题和ASD邀请我们的目标医生提供反馈 资源测验。最终，我们将使用我们在课程中收到的医生输入来开发 将通过Project Echo提供的继续医学教育(CME)计划。

PROJECT SUMMARY Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a condition characterized by atypical social communication, rigid thinking, and repetitive behavior that is becoming increasingly prevalent, with 1 in every 54 children meeting the diagnostic criteria. ASD signs and symptoms can vary broadly in their presentation, from relatively mild impairments to symptoms severe enough that they prevent individuals with ASD from living independently. Social support and early intervention therapies however can significantly ameliorate the severity of several ASD symptoms. Notably, the younger children are when therapies and interventions are begun, the more effective they will ultimately be. While children can be reliably diagnosed with ASD at as young as 18 months, the average age at time of diagnosis is 4.5 years which means that children with ASD often miss therapeutic opportunities for lack of a diagnoses. Delayed diagnoses are especially common in children from rural communities. Research that investigated possible causes for delayed ASD diagnoses in rural communities found lack of parental knowledge about ASD, hesitancy among clinicians to diagnose young children with ASD, and a lack of knowledge regarding steps to take to have a child tested for ASD to be significant factors. In order to address ASD-related disparities in rural communities, we created a webpage dedicated to helping families and individuals effected by ASD navigate the diagnostic process. Our webpage directs users to ASD “on-boarding’ organizations, and also has resources for finding early intervention therapy centers near their home communities, provides links to financial resources, and links to community based support organizations. We would like to expand our webpage into an online ASD ToolKit that will be reviewed by rural families who have a child with ASD. Our ToolKit will also give families opportunities to direct content creation by soliciting families’ input through user feedback questions and focus groups. The goal of the ASD ToolKit is to create an easy to use guide for living with and managing ASD in rural Georgia that has been shaped insights from families affected by ASD. We will also create an online course about ASD diagnosis and resources for rural physicians that will be informed by input from families affected by ASD. We will invite feedback from our targeted physicians though user feedback questions and an ASD resources quiz. Ultimately, we will use the physician input we receive on the course to develop a continuing medical education (CME) program that will be available through Project ECHO.