Increasing Access to Developmental Services for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: The Pediatric Developmental Passport Pilot Randomized Trial

Abstract

The pediatric developmental passport was created to aid service navigation for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). A pilot-randomized-control trial was conducted at two developmental clinics. The intervention group received the Passport card versus the control group who received the placebo card. Primary outcome was the proportion of families who contacted ASD services 1-year following diagnosis. Of 40 families, 95% in the intervention group contacted services versus 70% in the control (p = 0.04). All families at the academic site contacted services; at the community site 90% in the intervention group contacted versus 40% in the control (p = 0.02). The Passport shows promise aiding families of children with ASD in service navigation, particularly at community clinics where specialist follow-up is not readily available.