Autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are pervasive neurodevelopmental disorders first described over sixty years ago and diagnosed on the basis of significant impairments in social, communicative, cognitive and behavioural functioning. Symptoms persist throughout life, disrupt families and lead to significant disability; thus, ASD presents major public health challenges. There is no cure and no global consensus regarding which intervention strategy is most effective, with chronic management often being required. Given the complexity of ASD and associated therapies, it is clear that teachers, clinicians and families need guidance in selecting appropriate treatments. We managed to increase the impact, use and application of two AHRQ comparative effectiveness (CER) products that reference ASD therapeutics by adapting both their content and delivery mechanism to improve their penetration and use at the health and educational systems, clinical practice, caregiver and family levels. Our multidisciplinary team brought together faculty from the Annenberg School of Communication, School of Cinematic Arts and Viterbi School of Engineering at the University of Southern California with a nationwide network of experts on ASD therapeutics.
Funding Agency: National Institute of Health & Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality
Investigators: Mark J. Harris, Gisele Ragusa and Marsha Kinder, University of Southern California