Act Early Project: A Public Health Approach to Early Identification of Autism and Developmental Disabilities Adriane K. Griffen, MPH, MCHES Project Director, AUCD CDC Cooperative Agreement
Overview AUCD CDC HRSA Regional Summit Project State Teams and Progress AUCD Technical Assistance Learn the Signs. Act Early. Campaign Materials New Opportunity: Act Early Ambassador
Act Early Regional Summit Project Maternal and Child Health Bureau/HRSA Combating Autism Act Initiative (CAAI) National Center on Birth Defects and Developmental Disabilities/CDC Learn the Signs. Act Early. Campaign Association of University Centers on Disabilities Regional Summits
Act Early Regional Summit Project 11 Summits convened by AUCD since 2007 engaged over 900 state leaders 49 states and 4 territories have state action plans enhance the capacity to respond to the demand for early identification, diagnosis, and the coordination of early intervention services for children with autism spectrum disorder and related disabilities
Act Early Regional Summit Project Approximately 81% (43 states) remain actively engaged in carrying out activities associated with their state plan Including..Ohio!
Act Early Regional Summit Project Ohio Act Early Team Update quarterly "virtual meetings 5 workgroups based upon Impact statements: 1: Early identification 2: Access to services 3: Reliable data 4: Informed families 5: Collaborative partnerships
State Teams and Progress State Team Leader Survey (Administered by CDC and AUCD, n=37 state team leaders who attended Act Early Summits ) Survey questions addressed: Impact of summit participation Post summit activities Use of LTSAE materials TA needs
State Teams and Progress Strengthening existing partnerships Improving early identification Establishing new partnerships Programs have been established for physicians Training of education and early intervention providers Disseminating Act Early materials and including in presentations Awareness Public awareness campaign built on Act Early PSAs delivered on local radio stations Awareness activities for parents Dissemination of materials to early childhood providers Policy Change Learn the Signs. Act Early. www.cdc.gov/actearly
before the summit we didn t really have a plan in our state. We didn t really have anything coordinated for children with autism. The summit gave us a purpose and brought us all together. Even though we thought we all knew each other, the summit allowed us to bring new people to the table. It turned out that there were really important people missing, having them there has helped a lot.
Act Early Team Highlights Florida: Created a flow chart to help professionals in the state navigate the system Kansas: reduced waiting lists for diagnostic assessments Oklahoma: M-CHAT screening is now mandatory at 18 months within the Part C system New Hampshire: Implemented M-CHAT training for providers especially reaching out to homeless children and children living in poverty
New Mexico: Created a navigation wheel to help families understand the different systems and how to access them and customized CDC materials New York: Ran public service campaign which included PSA's and customized CDC materials South Carolina: Set up master clinician training program; created a roadmap Massachusetts: held two state summits and has three taskforces around different topics West Virginia: set up a small non-profit focused on raising autism awareness in their state
AUCD TA Activities Act Early listserv forum and SharePoint Sites Ohio: listserv and SharePoint Learn the Signs. Act Early. Quarterly Teleconference Series Making Learn the Signs. Act Early. Materials Yours: Act Early State Team Success Stories March 29, 2011 Next call: June 30, 3pm ET
Learn the Signs. Act Early. Campaign April is Autism Awareness Month Announce Center and LTSAE activities New health education materials Tri fold brochure examples of how states are using and how to customize Milestones Moments booklet research/testing
New! Tri Fold Brochure
New! Milestone Moments brochure Milestones Parenting Tips Developmental Health Watch
Children s book under development
Future Directions Champions for Families ACT case study curriculum Act Early Ambassadors
Champions for Families An opportunity for parents to tell the story of the person who helped their child and family Act Early
ACT case study curriculum
Act Early Ambassadors Program in partnership with AUCD Provide professional education about Learning the Signs and Acting Early Serve as the state liaison to the Learn the Signs. Act Early. campaign Applications are available at www.aucd.org/actearly Due April 15, 5pm ET
For more information Learn the Signs. Act Early. campaign www.cdc.gov/actearly Act Early Regional Summits www.aucd.org/actearly Adriane Griffen agriffen@aucd.org OHIO: Jessica Foster, MD, MPH Jessica.Foster@Nationwidechildrens.org Karen Edwards karen.edwards@cchmc.org
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