Across the country, families seeking an autism evaluation face months, sometimes years, on waitlists for specialty clinics. “Waitlists for specialty services have been a barrier to accessing care for a very long time, and increasingly so,” said Dr. Lisa Hayutin, Associate Professor, Developmental Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Colorado. For many school-aged children and adolescents, those delays can stretch up to two years. 

With specialty systems overwhelmed, primary care providers are stepping in. Yet many clinicians haven’t felt confident diagnosing autism, while some didn’t even realize they had permission. For participants in the Diagnosing Autism in Primary Care ECHO series, a program of The Care Collaborative, simply getting that “green light” from specialists has been empowering, helping them trust their clinical judgment and act sooner. 

Diagnosing Autism in Primary Care builds confidence through case-based learning and practical tools. Providers present real cases, test their thinking with peers and specialists, and learn to assess autism more systematically, “filing away information among the criteria,” as Dr. Hayutin describes, rather than relying on a general impression. 

That shift in mindset matters. Instead of viewing behaviors as simply present or absent, clinicians look for patterns and consistency. “It’s not that they’re not making eye contact,” Dr. Hayutin explained, but rather asking, “how often, when I expect them to check in with me, are they doing so?” This approach helps clarify the more nuanced presentations often seen in older children. 

Changing perceptions are helping, too. “For so long, autism had so much fear and stigma and ‘otherness’ attached to it,” she noted. Framing autism as a social learning difference makes conversations easier for both providers and families, and gives clinicians permission to start where families are, even if they don’t “say the word ‘autism’” right away. 

The series also addresses practical barriers like time and billing, while offering creative solutions and a supportive community — especially valuable for rural providers who often function as one-person teams. 

Together, these strategies are helping primary care clinicians diagnose earlier, families feel supported, and children access care sooner—no matter where they live. 

Registration is open for Diagnosing Autism in Primary Care, a six-week ECHO series running February 25 through April 1. Sign up here!