Through a grant with the American Endowment Foundation, Dr. Jessica Foster (right) is helping to ease the burden of coordinating autism services for patients and families.
The sooner a child can be properly assessed for autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the more options are available for treatment and assistance.
Thanks to a $100,000 grant from the American Endowment Fund (AEF), Akron Children’s is piloting a new approach that can set kids and families on more direct paths to treatment.
The grant will fund a licensed social worker (LISW) within an Akron Children’s primary care setting to coordinate assessments and care for kids with or suspected of having ASD. The LISW will focus only on ASD patients and will work directly with primary care physicians to improve access to ASD evaluation, diagnosis, and ongoing care coordination.
“We’re facing real challenges with access to services for kids with autism and their families — not just here, but across the country,” said Dr. Jessica Foster, director, Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics; The Venner Family Endowed Chair in Autism; developmental and behavioral pediatrician at Akron Children’s. “This pilot program is our way of trying to change that.”
A growing concern
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), one in 36 children is identified as living with ASD. Wait times can be months or longer for families to receive an initial diagnosis. After a diagnosis, coordinating the multi-disciplinary treatments can become complicated, frustrating, expensive, and, again, delayed for families trying to manage things on their own.
“We reached out to Akron Children’s to discover potential areas of need. We reviewed the proposal for the pilot program and were impressed by the thoughtfulness of the team, their passion for children, and the commitment to improving outcomes for families,” said Paula Hogan, Chief People and Culture Officer at AEF. “Two words describe this program: innovation and intervention.”
AEF, based in Northeast Ohio, is one of the nation’s largest independent donor-advised fund sponsors. It is a mission-motivated organization focused on expanding philanthropy throughout the financial services industry.
AEF recently established a Philanthropic Council to engage its 100 team members in philanthropy, committing to donate $1 million over the next five years to support local initiatives that benefit children and youth in Northeastern Ohio. The Akron Children’s autism program is one of the inaugural grants.
“In this first year of giving, we focused on Summit and Cuyahoga counties and underserved children within those areas,” said Ms. Hogan. “In addition to the grant, we wanted to partner with an organization in which our team members could volunteer over the course of a year. Akron Children’s was the perfect place to do both.”
Saving time and money
In addition to easing the process of diagnosis and treatments for families, this new approach to autism may save them money.
“We believe that early intervention not only improves outcomes but also empowers families and helps save costs over a child’s lifetime,” said Dr. Foster. “In our new model, specialists can be brought in sooner and address issues faster. If left unaddressed for years, conditions can become more complicated, leading to more extensive – and expensive – needs for the individual across systems of care”
Dr. Foster shared that research has shown that early intervention can save about $19,000 per child annually or $342,000 per child through age 18.
“AEF’s support is making it possible for us to get this program off the ground faster than would have ever been possible, and it’s going to help inform and develop this work going forward,” she said. “We’re so grateful.”
“Philanthropy doesn’t have to be complicated,” said Ms. Hogan. “Find an organization that’s close to your heart and go visit and find ways to help. You don’t have to wait for their call.”
Click here to learn more about how early intervention helped a preschooler with autism spectrum disorder.
To contribute to the autism spectrum disorder pilot program, contact Matthew Long, director of major gifts, at mlong2@akronchildrens.org.
