Telemedicine for Autism
Telemedicine: Reducing wait lists for autism medical services

Telemedicine -- connecting health care providers and patients via computer or smart phone for diagnosis and treatment -- has been making it easier, and more cost-effective, to "see" the doctor. Using a camera-enabled computer or smart phone, patients with common health concerns can get some diagnoses without leaving their homes. Emergency room doctors and nurses are able to communicate with their peers in larger trauma centers via computer, as well.
Specific to Autism is the challenging situation to find experts in remote geographical areas including here in Binghamton, NY. And this was a problem 25 years ago and cannot be blamed on the pandemic, though that just worsened it.
A University of Iowa study, published in the journal Pediatrics, shows that parents with children on the autism spectrum are able to have a specialist address challenging behavior in these children by interacting over the computer, too, and at less than half of the cost of receiving similar care in person.
"A lot of kids who are on the autism spectrum have significant problems with behavior," says Scott Lindgren, PhD, professor of pediatrics in the Stead Family Department of Pediatrics at University of Iowa Carver College of Medicine, and lead author of the study. "These kids may have trouble following directions, or have problems when there are changes in their schedule or routine. They also don't always have good enough communication skills to be able to explain to someone why they're getting upset or having a meltdown."
Already we are seeing providers of telemedicine set up businesses with one being The Autism Tele-medicine Company. They state that they founded the company because they "bring not only the medical expertise, but also the three dimensional experience with the disorder that comes from living with it at home. This combination renders us vastly more empathetic and sensitive to what you may experience all the way from the crushing time of autism diagnosis through your child's adulthood." However, again, they are a private health provider and it is still a provider's choice as to whether or not they will accept public or private health insurance.
Another new Telehealth company is
www.asyouare.com
There you can receive an evaluation. It's the answer during this time of 2 and 3 year waiting lists and travelling hours with your child.
If you want to check out a larger center, there are major research centers in the country, particularly those under the National Institute of Health's Research on Autism Centers of Excellence not only provide this service but continue to research its effectiveness. These centers are located at UCSF, Boston University, Emory, UCLA, UNC at Chapel Hill, University of Iowa, and Yale among others.

