The National Guideline for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Australia aspires to streamline referral pathways so that children can get the right help as early as possible. But despite the best intentions of many clinicians, there are drivers in the health system that make implementation difficult. There are constraints in the way specialists can be reimbursed for time spent managing a case through the diagnostic process. And the extent of developmental disorders in the community may not be reflected in the depth of training in this area. We also hear about some breaking research into a highly accurate diagnostic screening tool that could reveal just how prevalent ASD is in the community.

Guests
Dr Paul Hotton FRACP (Staff Specialist in Community Child Health and Child Protection, Sydney Children's Hospital Network; Chair of CCCH at RACP)
with input from Associate Professor Josephine Barbaro (Olga Tennison Autism Research Centre, La Trobe University) 

Production
Written and produced by Mic Cavazzini DPhil. Music licenced from Epidemic Sound includes ‘Falling from the Clouds’ by Sven Lindvall, ‘Lantern Room (Instrumental)’ by Torii Wolf and ‘Not Blue’ by Kylie Dailey. Image by Elva Etienne licenced from Getty Images.

Please visit the RACP website for a transcript and supporting references. RACP members can claim CPD credits for listening via MyCPD.

References
> Australian National Guideline for the Assessment and Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders
> Implementing the National Guideline online explainer