ASO ACTION ALERT: Autism Early Screening Pilot Needs Your Help!

[Guest guest]

Dear Friend of ASO:

There’s a first of its kind approach to improving autism care in Ohio, and program organizers want you to get involved.

The Ohio Department of Health is funding The Autism Diagnosis Education Pilot Program through the American Academy of Pediatrics, Ohio Chapter. We’re looking for doctors to get involved in a screening program to look for signs of autism during routine well-child visits. The plan would yield an earlier diagnosis while more quickly linking families with the appropriate services.

We encourage you to spread the word about this plan to any members of the medical community. Anyone can learn more about the program and how to apply through www.ohioaap.org under "What's Next". You can also contact Dan Farkas, the Project Manager, with any questions at (614) 846-6258 or through dfarkas@....

Following my signature is a sample email you can send to your doctor's practice or a phone script that you can use if you are willing or able to call and talk to your doctor's office staff. There is also an information sheet on the Autism and Developmental Screening Collaborative that can be shared with interested folks in the medical community.

Please help us make this project a success! Contact your pediatric or family practice doctors office and encourage them to participate in this pilot!

Please Circulate!

Sincerely,

Autism Society of Ohio701 S. Main St.Akron, OH 44311(330) 376-0211fax: (330) 376-1226email: askASO@...web: www.autismohio.org

Sample Email

Autism and Developmental Screening Learning Collaborative

Ohio – 2008

Draft Script and Talking Points for Recruitment of Primary Care Clinicians

Email script (to be tailored)

((Some type of local greeting.))

I’m working on a project to combat autism and other developmental delays. There are new opportunities to get involved that you’ll want to know about.

The Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics recently launched the Autism Diagnosis Education Pilot Project through a grant from the Ohio Department of Health. Dr. Duby of Akron Children’s Hospital is leading an effort to improve screening, evaluation, and treatment for autism and other developmental delays.

Step one of this process is a learning collaborative for medical professionals like you. Working with the Center for Health Care Quality at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, we’ve set up a program to improve screening for children 0-3, using standardized tools backed by the state and national AAP. You’ll also have a chance to partner with referral agencies to help streamline the early intervention needed to help children with developmental delays such as autism.

This free program has a component show you how to best bill for your efforts. Participating practices will also receive free developmental screening tools worth more than $200, free external marketing through Ohio AAP and its partners, and internal tools to promote your commitment to quality. Your only cost is for your food during the training session, as state regulations prohibit us from feeding people during these types of trainings.

This isn’t a one-day seminar you’ll forget about two weeks later. Our forum provides soon to be mandated maintenance of certification (MOC) requirements in quality improvement. CME opportunities exist as well. Plus, local experts who have successfully put these improvements into place will support you in making the screening program best fit your practice needs now and in the future.

You’ve probably read the same reports I have which suggest 12-16% of children born in Ohio have some sort of developmental delay. 1 in 150 could have a form of autism. This training program will give you a chance to make care more effective, receive free marketing to help with your practice’s bottom line, and give families a better quality of life in ((Insert city where you live))

You can get more information about the project, including application materials, from www.ohioaap.org. I also encourage you to e-mail me with any further questions. You can also contact the Ohio AAP office at (614) 846-6258.

Your application will receive full consideration if submitted by early September 2008. We’ll work on some limited activities over the summer, with local face-to-face meetings taking place in late September or early October 2008.

This program is a rare chance to provide lasting improvement in the health of young children, tackling challenges before they become obstacles. I hope you’ll take the time to look over this material and get involved in an effort that can impact families for decades to come.

Thanks for your time, and take care.

((Here is where you sign your name….))

Sample Telephone Script

Talking Points for Phone Calls

-I’m working on a project to combat autism and other developmental delays. There are new opportunities to get involved that you’ll want to know about.

The problem:

You’ve probably read the same reports I have which suggest 12-16% of children born in Ohio have some sort of developmental delay. 1 in 150 could have a form of autism. There’s a backlog that’s clogging already strained systems, causing harm to children, their families, and the community we care about and live in.

- 12-16% of all children have a developmental or behavior problem

- 1 in 150 have autism

- Standardized developmental screening isn’t taking place

- Late detection negatively impacts the patient, family, and social systems

- Standardized developmental screening isn’t taking place

- The inconsistency creates logjams that delay care

The solution:

The Ohio Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics recently launched the Autism Diagnosis Education Pilot Project through a grant from the Ohio Department of Health. Dr. Duby of Akron Children’s Hospital is leading an effort to improve screening, evaluation, and treatment for autism and other developmental delays.

- Standardized developmental screening can identify problems early

- Early identification and diagnosis leads to early intervention

- An efficient referral process can create feedback about evaluation

- The earlier the intervention, the higher success rate for improved function and quality of life

Collaborative objectives:

Working with the Center for Health Care Quality at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, we’ve set up a program to improve screening for children 0-3, using standardized tools backed by the state and national AAP. You’ll also have a chance to partner with referral agencies to help streamline the early intervention needed to help children with developmental delays such as autism.

- Improve outcomes for children and families by optimizing developmental assessment

- Learn how to screen for developmental delays including autism

- Improve referral capacity to limit wait times for diagnosis and early intervention options

- Create links to local resources for evaluation and treatment

- Ensure a referral 'feedback loop' so that information gets back to the primary care practice

- Learn how to get reimbursed for your time and efforts

- Provide state of the art care for families in your community

- Increase family satisfaction

How our collaborative will improve your practice:

This isn’t a one-day seminar you’ll forget about two weeks later. Our forum provides soon to be mandated maintenance of certification (MOC) requirements in quality improvement. CME opportunities exist as well. Plus, local experts who have successfully put these improvements into place will support you in making the screening program best fit your practice needs now and in the future.

- Free developmental screening tools worth more than $200

- External marketing and promotion from Ohio AAP and its affiliated partners in the Autism Diagnosis Education Pilot Project

- Practice marketing and promotion through pamphlets and certificates of completion

- Consultation from leading experts in the field

- Fulfillment of new board maintenance of certification requirements for each pediatrician in your practice

- Continuing education credits

- The opportunity to be part of an Ohio initiative for children

The expectations for your practice:

The project is looking for about 100 practices, in any type of practice setting – community clinics, medical groups, and so forth. Applications will be accepted through early August 2008. The project begins with some initial activity over the summer and the in-person meetings taking place in September and October 2008. (Belmont 9/22 & 23, lin 9/24 & 25, Wood 10/1 & 10/2, Cuyahoga 10/6 & 7, Warren 10/15 & 16). You can get more information about the project, including application materials, from www.ohioaap.org. I also encourage you to e-mail me with any further questions. You can also contact the Ohio AAP office at (614) 846-6258.

- Form a team to implement these changes

- Make a formal commitment to help families and your practice

- Collect small amounts of data on screening and referral in your practice at baseline and for several months to monitor changes

- Attend a 1 ½ day learning session on developmental and autism screening

- Participate in an email listserv and monthly conference call with experts

This program is a rare chance to provide lasting improvement in the health of young children, tackling challenges before they become obstacles. I hope you’ll take the time to look over this material and get involved in an effort that can impact families for decades to come.

Information Sheet

The Autism and Developmental Screening

Learning Collaborative

__________________________________________________________________________________________________

The problem:

- 12-16% of all children have a developmental or behavior problem

- Late detection negatively impacts the patient, family, and social systems

The solution:

- Standardized developmental screening can identify problems early

- Early identification and diagnosis leads to early intervention

- An efficient referral process can create feedback about evaluation

- The earlier the intervention, the higher success rate for improved function and quality of life

Collaborative objectives:

- Improve outcomes for children and families by optimizing developmental assessment

- Support primary care clinicians to implement systems for developmental and autism screening

- Create linkages to local resources for evaluation and treatment

- Ensure a referral 'feedback loop' so that information gets back to the primary care practice

How our collaborative will improve your practice:

- Learn how to screen for developmental delays including autism

- Improve referral capacity to limit wait times for diagnosis and early intervention options

- Learn how to get reimbursed for your time and efforts

- Identify ways to more efficiently implement surveillance and screening procedures in your office

- Provide state of the art care for families in your community

- Increase family satisfaction

Benefits of participation:

- Ages and Stages developmental screening tools (a value of $200)

- Practice marketing and promotion through pamphlets and certificates of completion

- External marketing and promotion from Ohio AAP and its affiliated partners in the Autism Diagnosis Education Pilot Project

- Consultation from leading experts in the field

- Fulfillment of new board maintenance of certification requirements for each pediatrician in your practice

- Continuing education credits

- The opportunity to be part of an Ohio initiative for children

The expectations for your practice:

- Form a team to implement these changes

- Make a formal commitment to help families and your practice

- Collect small amounts of data on screening and referral in your practice at baseline and for several months to monitor changes

- Attend a 1 ½ day learning session on developmental and autism screening

- Participate in an email listserv and monthly conference call with experts

This is your chance to lead a systems change that will benefit Ohio now and for decades to come. Visit www.ohioaap.org to apply now for the training nearest you.

The Autism Diagnosis Education Pilot Project is funded by the Ohio Department of Health’s Bureau of Early Intervention Services.

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