Improving Developmental Outcomes for Rural Toddlers Through Family Navigation
2025 Award: $53,800
Long delays to diagnosis and treatment are unfortunately common for many families with autistic toddlers, especially those living in rural areas. Our study investigates whether a systems-focused intervention can reduce these treatment delays and improve developmental outcomes for young children with autism. Join us in advancing faster, more effective, and family-centered autism care.
Need/Problem: Early diagnosis of autism is important, however, it must be followed by starting autism-specific treatments quickly to help children meet their developmental goals. Unfortunately, many families, especially those in rural areas, face long delays in getting these treatments due to a lack of specialists, travel difficulties, and less awareness about autism service availability. We need a family-centered approach to help these families overcome these barriers and get the care they need sooner.
Grant Summary: We will study if Family Navigation, a support system for families, can reduce the time between an autism diagnosis and the start of autism-specific treatments for young children in rural areas. We will also gather feedback from families to improve our program to better meet their needs.
Goals & Projected Outcomes: Our short-term goal is to see if Family Navigation delivered through telehealth can help rural toddlers with autism start treatment sooner and improve their development. We will also check if this approach is acceptable, appropriate, and practical for families. The data from this study will help us apply for a larger grant to test this program on a bigger scale across North Carolina.
Kelly Caravella, PhD
Grant Details: Families in rural areas often face long delays in getting autism-specific treatments due to various barriers. Family Navigation has been shown to help reduce the time to get an autism diagnosis by providing a knowledgeable support person to guide families through complex healthcare systems. This study will see if Family Navigation, delivered through telehealth, can also reduce the time to start treatments after diagnosis. We will evaluate how well this approach works, how families feel about it, and how practical it is. The findings will help us develop a larger program to improve access to autism treatments for young children in rural North Carolina.
