ArticlePsychiatric services (Washington, D.C.)2017
Timeliness of Autism Spectrum Disorder Diagnosis and Use of Services Among U.S. Elementary School-Aged Children.
Article in Psychiatric services (Washington, D.C.), 2017. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 53 papers, 4 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
53 citing papers in PubMed, 4 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- The use of Language ENvironment Analysis in autism research: A systematic review.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2025Pooled it
- Building Capacity: A Systematic Review of Training in the Diagnosis of Autism for Community-Based Clinicians.Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research · 2025Pooled it
- Parent-Mediated Interventions for Infants under 24 Months at Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review of Randomized Controlled Trials.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2022Pooled it
- Systematic Review of Disparities and Differences in the Access and Use of Allied Health Services Amongst Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2021Pooled it
- Voices for Change: Stakeholder Perspectives on Childhood Diagnostic Delays in Western Australia.Child: care, health and development · 2026Article
- Clinical Heterogeneity Among Preschoolers Recruited as Infants Due to Elevated Likelihood of Autism: A Sibling Study.Scandinavian journal of psychology · 2026Article
- Arabic Language Autism Diagnostic Interview (ALADIN): A Validation Study.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Health databases and early identification of autism spectrum disorder: a scoping review.BMJ open · 2026Article
- Unique feeding profiles in children with pediatric feeding disorder and comorbid autism spectrum disorder: a retrospective cohort study.European journal of pediatrics · 2026Article
- A Qualitative Analysis of Pediatricians' Perspectives Regarding Barriers, Facilitators, and Strategies for Providing Timely Autism Spectrum Disorder Screening and Diagnosis.Clinical medicine insights. Pediatrics · 2026Article
- Racial and Ethnic Differences in Rates of Prolonged Autism Diagnosis Process & Prior Diagnoses in Mental Health Specialty Care.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Medicaid Expansion and Medication Use Among U.S. Children with ASD or ADHD: A Repeated Cross-Sectional Analysis Comparing Before and During the COVID-19 Periods.Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2026Article
- Real-world application of an eye-tracking device for autism screening and diagnosis: a short report from public demonstrations in Qatar, Dubai and the U.S.BMC psychiatry · 2026Article
- Neurodevelopmental disorders in children: the role of MRI in early detection and intervention planning.Frontiers in neuroscience · 2026Review
- The role of machine learning in autism spectrum disorder assessment and management.Pediatric research · 2025Review
- The Impact of COVID-19 on Autism Diagnosis and Incidence in the Military Health System.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2025Article
- Pathways and delays in the diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder in Kenya: a cross-sectional study from tertiary hospitals in Nairobi.Child and adolescent psychiatry and mental health · 2025Article
- Article
- Current situation and influencing factors of Chinese children's diagnosis delay in autism.Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders · 2025Article
- The impact of state policy on early autism diagnosis: A qualitative investigation.Autism : the international journal of research and practice · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors.
Funding
Abstract
objectiveThis study assessed the relationship of timeliness of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis with current use of ASD-related services in a nationally representative sample of U.S. children.
methodsThe Centers for Disease Control's (CDC's) Survey of Pathways to Diagnosis and Services was used to assess experiences of 722 children ages six to 11 with ASD. Bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to explore associations between age at ASD diagnosis and delay in ASD diagnosis and use of health services. Health services included current use of behavioral intervention (BI) therapy, school-based therapy, complementary and alternative medicine (CAM), and psychotropic medications.
resultsMean age at ASD diagnosis was 4.4 years, and mean diagnostic delay was 2.2 years. In adjusted analysis, older age at diagnosis (≥4 versus <4) was associated with lower likelihood of current BI or school-based therapy use and higher likelihood of current psychotropic medication use. Analyses that treated age at diagnosis as a continuous variable found that likelihood of current psychotropic medication use increased with older age at diagnosis. A delay of two or more years between parents' first discussion of concerns with a provider and ASD diagnosis was associated with higher likelihood of current CAM use. Likelihood of current CAM use increased as delay in diagnosis became longer.
conclusionsBoth older age at diagnosis and longer delay in diagnosis were associated with different health services utilization patterns among younger children with ASD. Prompt and early diagnosis may be associated with increased use of evidence-based therapies for ASD.
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