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Utilization of speech‐language, occupational and physical therapy by diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder
Author(s) -
Yingling Marissa E.,
Bell Bethany A.
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
child: care, health and development
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.832
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2214
pISSN - 0305-1862
DOI - 10.1111/cch.12790
Subject(s) - medicaid , waiver , autism spectrum disorder , autism , ethnic group , poverty , intervention (counseling) , medicine , occupational therapy , american community survey , clinical psychology , family medicine , census , psychology , psychiatry , population , environmental health , health care , political science , law
Background Although Medicaid coverage of treatment for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is expanding, we know little about when children receive speech‐language, occupational and/or physical therapy. The objective of this study was to examine the relationships between predisposing, enabling and need characteristics and utilization of speech‐language, occupational and physical therapy by diagnosis of ASD. Methods We integrated administrative, Medicaid and Census data using a large sample of children with ASD who enrolled in a 1915(c) Home and Community Based Medicaid waiver in a south‐eastern state ( N = 1,968) to explore (1) the percent of treatment utilization by ASD diagnosis, (2) the type of therapy utilized and (3) the predisposing, enabling and need characteristics associated with utilization. Results The percent of utilization was 71%; 65.8% utilized SLT, 33.4% utilized OT and 18.4% utilized PT. Enabling (i.e., urbanicity, age of diagnosis and early intervention programme enrolment) and need (i.e., intellectual disability) characteristics were associated with utilization whereas predisposing social characteristics (i.e., sex and child race‐ethnicity and neighbourhood racial composition, poverty and affluence) were not associated with utilization. Conclusions Findings highlight the value in monitoring when children begin treatment. As governments in the United States and globally work to maximize children's potential, additional research that can inform efforts to facilitate earlier utilization will be key to promoting optimal outcomes.