Understanding autism diagnosis in primary care: Rates of diagnosis from 2004 to 2019 and child age at diagnosis.

Abstract

Lay abstract: The current demand for autism diagnostic services exceeds the ability of the workforce to assess and diagnose children in a timely manner. One solution may be to equip primary care providers (PCPs) with the tools and expertise needed to diagnose autism within their practice. PCPs are often trusted professionals who have many touchpoints with children during early development, in which they can identify early signs of autism. Recent initiatives have focused on bolstering PCPs' diagnostic capabilities; however, no studies have examined how the rates of autism diagnosis in primary care have changed over time. We aimed to evaluate whether autism diagnosis in primary care has changed over time and how diagnosis in primary care relates to a child's age at the time of diagnosis. We found that the likelihood of a child being diagnosed by a PCP decreased by about 2% with every passing year from 2004 to 2019 when accounting for demographic characteristics. In our sample, PCPs diagnosed children approximately 1 year earlier than non-PCPs (e.g., psychologists and psychiatrists). Further research is needed to understand why the proportion of children diagnosed by PCPs decreases over time. However, this decrease suggests more work is needed to get capacity-building initiatives into community primary care practice. Though we must continue to find effective ways to build community PCPs' ability to diagnose autism, the present findings support the crucial role PCPs can play in early autism diagnosis.