Time is of the essence when it comes to supporting children who have autism spectrum disorder. 

Providing quicker access to intervention means more effective care and ultimately better outcomes for kids and families affected by autism. 

But many families can face staggering wait times — anywhere from nine months to three years — to access both an autism diagnosis and early intervention care. This is driven by multiple barriers, but the biggest is that there aren’t enough providers to meet the demand, says Jessica Simacek, PhD, a researcher at the University of Minnesota’s Institute on Community Integration and Masonic Institute for the Developing Brain (MIDB). 

Simacek directs the MIDB’s TeleOutreach Center, which uses telehealth technology to break down barriers that often stand between families and the care they need. By connecting patients to critical services remotely, the team can expand autism intervention access far beyond traditional clinic walls. 

“We try to find ways to improve the timing of care and decrease that wait time,” she says. “This means [providing] almost immediate access to supplemental early intervention resources via telehealth or live video coaching, while families wait for other [in-person] services.” 

These resources include coaching for caregivers of children who have autism as well as training programs for community health providers. The TeleOutreach Center has also partnered with the Department of Defense to virtually provide resources to military families and children. 

All told, the TeleOutreach Center — which is funded by philanthropy including support from the Richard M. Schulze Family Foundation — has provided assistance to more than 300 children who have mental, emotional, developmental and/or behavioral health needs and their families in the past four years. 

“The more we can do to improve and expedite that process, the better those families are likely going to do,” Simacek says.