Long-term Impact of Participation in ECHO Autism for Allied Health Professionals for Treating Pediatric Autism Spectrum Disorder.

OBJECTIVES

Extension for community health care outcomes (ECHO) Autism is a successful tele-education program that improves primary care clinicians' knowledge, skills, and self-efficacy in providing medical care to children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). However, less is known about the effectiveness of the ECHO Autism model for allied health professionals (AHPs). The study objective was to determine if ECHO Autism participation has long-lasting effects (>6 months postparticipation) on AHPs' care practices.

METHODS

Participants from 3 cohorts of the ECHO Autism for AHPs (EAA) program were invited to participate in qualitative interviews to provide perspectives on barriers to treating children with ASD, reflections on their learnings from EAA, and suggestions for program improvement. Interview recordings were transcribed, and thematic analysis was conducted.

RESULTS

Participants included 9 AHPs (4 occupational therapists, 4 speech language pathologists, and 1 physical therapist). AHPs reported that EAA participation reinforced and updated their existing knowledge when treating patients with ASD, affirmed their clinical practice, improved patient and family rapport, advanced professional development, and built interdisciplinary learning. The EAA's free virtual format was convenient; however, participation barriers included time away from clinical visits and inexperience with giving case presentations. Barriers to providing care to children with ASD included limited resources and managing challenging behaviors.

CONCLUSION

EAA provided a flexible format for AHPs to increase their ASD-related knowledge, build interdisciplinary learning, and gain confidence in working with children with ASD. Study findings have the potential to improve the EAA program experience and enhance the autism-related clinical care practices of AHPs.