ECHO autism adult healthcare: Training community clinicians to provide quality care for autistic adults

This publication is included in the Autistic Autism Scholarship Project. one author of this publication is identified as autistic in the project.

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Malow, B. A., Mazurek, M. O., Stobbe, G., Agrawal, M. M., Loftin, R., Caudel, D., Hess, A., Westphal, A., Smith, J. R., Shouse, J., Cheak-Zamora, N., & Sohl, K. (2023). ECHO autism adult healthcare: Training community clinicians to provide quality care for autistic adults. Autism Research, 16(8), 1619-1629. https://doi.org/10.1002/aur.2996

Publication date: 31 Jul 2023 Added to AutiHub: 9 Aug 2026 Type: Article Article language: English
Publisher source (DOI) Full text OpenAlex source

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Authors

Publication authors
12
Publication authors identified as autistic
1 / 12 (8.3%)
  1. Beth A Malow
  2. Micah O Mazurek
  3. Gary Stobbe
  4. Mavara M Agrawal
  1. Rachel Loftin
  2. David Caudel *
  3. Amy Hess
  4. Alexander Westphal
  1. Joshua Ryan Smith
  2. Janet Shouse
  3. Nancy Cheak-Zamora
  4. Kristin Sohl

Abstract

Abstract Autistic adults experience significant unmet healthcare needs, with opportunities for improvement in both the systems and the practitioners who serve this population. Primary care physicians/practitioners (PCPs) are a natural choice to provide comprehensive care to autistic adults but often lack experience in serving this population. This pilot study developed and tested an Extension for Community Healthcare Outcomes (ECHO) Autism model adapted from our previous work, focused specifically on training PCPs in best‐practice care for autistic adults. The project was informed directly by the perspectives and preferences of autistic adults, caregivers, and PCPs. Two consecutive cohorts of PCPs participated in ECHO Autism Adult Healthcare sessions. Each cohort met 1 h twice a month for 6 months, with 37 PCPs (n = 20 in Cohort 1, and n = 17 in Cohort 2) participating. Based on findings from the first cohort, adjustments were made to refine the session preparation, curriculum, conduct of the ECHO, resources, and evaluation. After participation in the ECHO Autism program, PCP self‐efficacy and satisfaction improved, while the number of perceived barriers did not change. Knowledge did not improve significantly in Cohort 1, but after adjustments to the training model, participants in Cohort 2 showed significant knowledge gains. While attention to systems of care is critical to addressing barriers in healthcare in the autistic population, the ECHO Autism Adult Healthcare model is feasible and holds promise for improving PCP satisfaction and self‐efficacy in working with autistic adults.

Bibliography cited by this reference

Cited references are imported from external metadata sources when they are available. The list may be partial.

Cited bibliography overview

These indicators describe the bibliography cited by this publication. An author name is counted each time it appears in one cited reference, so the same person can be counted more than once. Names not yet linked to an author already present in AutiHub are treated as unknown, not as non-autistic. Last computed: 2 Oct 2026 13:58.

Cited references
34
With a DOI
32
Without a DOI, from raw bibliography text
2
5 / 34 (14.7%) cited references include at least one author identified as autistic.
References with data to complete
1 / 34 (2.9%)
References with detected author names
33 / 34 (97.1%)
Without detected author names
1
Without a structured title
1
Without a stable identifier
1
References with raw author names still to review
0
References with external metadata lookup issues
0
These indicators apply to cited references displayed on this page, after technical duplicates have been merged. A reference without a DOI can still support author statistics when a title and author names are available.
Author names detected in the cited bibliography
233
From DOI or external metadata
233
From validated raw bibliography text
0
Raw names already validated
0
Raw names still to review
0
108 / 233 (46.4%) names are linked to an author already present in AutiHub. 125 / 233 (53.6%) names are not yet linked.
Names linked to a person identified as autistic
11 / 233 (4.7%)
Calculated across all author names detected in the cited bibliography. Among names linked to an author already present in AutiHub: 11 / 108 (10.2%). Distinct people identified as autistic: 8 / 175 (4.6%).
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