March 2023 Issue: Reflections

Dr. Kristin Sohl Featured in The Transmitter

For this year’s International Day of Women and Girls in Science, Spectrum highlighted 31 women making a mark on autism research, including ECHO Autism founder and Executive Director, Kristin Sohl, MD, FAAP .

Check out the article featuring an interview with Dr. Sohl here.

ECHO Autism Communities Partner: Metrohealth Medical Center

This month we are turning the spotlight on The MetroHealth System (Cleveland, OH) who leveraged the ECHO Model to relaunch their ECHO Autism: Screening, Referral Pathways, and Initial Supports to Lessen ASD Disparities program. This program was initially piloted in 2021, and due to its overwhelming success, it was relaunched in 2022.

This Ohio-based MetroHealth ECHO Autism program focused on increasing accessibility to autism services and streamlining referrals between state and local community organizations. The participating organizations received direct access to experts in ASD screening, behavioral supports, and resources.

The specific goals for this ECHO Autism program included:

• Educating community providers in a consistent process for screening ASD and how to share results with families.
• Increasing awareness of ASD-related behaviors.
• Discussing referral pathways, behavioral supports, and resources for ASD.
• Promoting discussion of specific cases brought to the team by community providers.

Why this program is important: Many low-income children have reduced contact with the medical system and often utilize medical resources that do not provide consistent care (e.g., urgent care, emergency department, and walk-in clinics). The goal is to improve rates of early ASD screening and follow-up by continuing to partner with programs commonly accessed by low-income and racial/ethnic minorities but whose front-line providers have little formal training in ASD (e.g., Women, Infants, and Children; Department of Children and Family Services; Birth to Three Intervention).

The interdisciplinary HUB team members include Melissa Armstrong-Brine, PhD, Clinical Psychologist/Pediatric Neuropsychologist; Irene Dietz, MD, Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician; Sonal Moratschek, MD, Child, and Adolescent Psychiatrist; Katie Hatmaker, RBT; Beth Bacon, LISW; and Danielle Best, Parent Advocate.

We are incredibly excited about the work that Melissa Armstrong-Brine, Katie Hatmaker, and their team have done with this program.

New Global Partners

ECHO Autism Communities welcomes new partners from around the globe:

• Avanza Centro Neuropsicologico - Panama
• Ciprac CIPRAC - Argentina
• NHS Midlands - England
• Apeplac – Peru
• In-Neuro – Spain
• Clínica Infantil Divino Ni?o - Nicaragua
• hypoflo – Colombia
• Neuroinfant CL – Ecuador
• TEAJUNTOS - Argentina
• University of Pretoria – Africa
• SENBOX Framework , Education Plus – Vietnam

Don't Miss Our Annual Virtual Symposium April 20th, 2023

The third annual ECHO Autism Communities Symposium is only a month away! There is a great lineup of speakers and topics for anyone who wants to learn more about autism, advocating for autistic individuals, and evidence-based practices for health care professionals.

Registration is open for this free virtual event. You can register here today!

Spotlight on MOADD ECHO

This month we are highlighting Missouri Alliance for Dual Diagnosis (MOADD) ECHO.

MOADD ECHO bridges the care gap between professional mental health providers, state

agencies and service systems, and children with dual diagnoses.

Who Should Participate:

• Community Mental Health Center professionals (#therapists , #socialworkers, #casemanagers, #psychologists, #psychiatrists, #nurses)

Developmental Disability Service Professionals (support coordinators, #bcba professionals, professional managers, direct care staff).

Content Experts/HUB Team: Greg Cejas, MD, Paul Glaser, MD, PhD, Amber Stockreef M. ED, BCBA, LBA, Seth Allen, Licensed Psychologist, Shawna Shelton , BSN, RN, Rachel Jones, LPC and Lisa Nothaus, BS

How It Helps:

• Children and families experience improved treatment outcomes and quality of life experience closer to home.
• Missouri mental health providers get greater access to cross-system resources and supports to provide comprehensive care for people with dual diagnoses.
• Communication and collaboration improve between state agencies and the service systems for children with dual diagnosis.
• Care Gaps are identified, and long-term solutions are developed.

How It Works:

• Presenting professionals receive specific case guidance to better support children with dual diagnoses.
• All participate in a convenient, web-based, small-group format.
• All participants learn and share best practices for supporting children with dual diagnoses/behavioral health diagnoses and for trauma responsive care

What You Get:

• FREE CME/CE – up to 1.5 per clinic
• Real-time case guidance with a multidisciplinary team of medical and state resource

specialists

• Learn best practices for children with dual diagnoses.
• Learn how to improve communication between care systems.
• Meet a network of other providers navigating similar scenarios.

Sign up today at www.ECHOAutism.org/MOADD

If you have questions or need help registering, please contact the MOADD ECHO program coordinator, Sarah Towne at [email protected]