They’re Doing What? A Brief Paper on Service Use and Attitudes in ASD Community-Based Agencies

Abstract

This brief paper examined the community services delivered to youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a Southern Californian city as a way to better understand ASD service provision and service attitudes. Specific goals of the study were to identify the services being delivered within the area, and how the use, perceived evidence and value attached to these services mapped onto recent systematic ASD service reviews. Forty-six providers completed the ASD Strategies and Interventions Survey (ASD-SIS), which consisted of 21 treatment strategies and 22 interventions packages commonly used with children with ASD. Participants: 1) indicated each treatment strategy and intervention package they use; and 2) rated the perceived evidence and value of each treatment strategy and intervention package they endorsed using. Results demonstrated that a variety of treatment strategies and intervention packages, both with and without an established evidence base, were reportedly being delivered to youth with ASD through community-based agencies. Additionally, a large number of providers reported not knowing the evidence of many treatment strategies and intervention packages. Finally, although no relationship was found between evidence base and use, perceived evidence, and value for treatment strategies, providers reported significantly higher use, perceived evidence and value for established intervention packages. Results demonstrate the need to more effectively disseminate strategies that can support providers in selecting services to deliver to youth with ASD, and underscore the need to better understand the community service landscape on a larger scale.

Educator Knowledge and Preparedness for Educating Students With Autism in Public Schools

“…Results from this survey align with those of previous studies that interventions used when working with students with ASD are not always based on scientific evidence (Burns &Ysseldyke, 2009; Hess et al, 2008; Pickard et al, 2018). Although many educators participating in the study reported use of EBPs as the interventions used in their classrooms, many also reported use of interventions and supports with no evidence to support their use.…”

Visual supports at home and in the community for individuals with autism spectrum disorders: A scoping review

“…VS are one of the common, psychosocial interventions recommended across the lifespan, for autistic people (Denne, Hastings, & Hughes, 2018; National Institute for Health and Clinical Excellence (NICE), 2011(NICE), , 2012Pickard, Meza, Drahota, & Brikho, 2018;SIGN, 2016). They are either 'low-tech' -objects, photos, pictures, symbols, or written words -or 'high tech' -on electronic devices.…”

Choosing strategies that work from the start: A mixed methods study to understand effective development of community–academic partnerships

“…This is important because approximately 1 in 68 US children are diagnosed with ASD, and the majority of these children are eligible for services from ASD community providers (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2014). However, not all of the services being delivered by ASD community agencies are EBPs (Paynter & Keen, 2015; Pickard, Meza, Drahota, & Brikho, 2018), and EBPs that are adopted by ASD community agencies may not be successfully implemented and sustained (Perrault, McClelland, Austin, & Sieppert, 2011; Nakamura et al., 2011). AMI CAP members were interested in finding a way to facilitate EBP implementation in community-based organizations that provide services to children with an ASD (heretofore referred to as ASD-CBOs).…”