ECHO Autism Communities Symposium 2024
We want to thank our 2024 Symposium presenters for sharing their time and expertise with us and for the participants who dedicated their day to learn with us. We had over 1600 registrants from all over the world!
United States, Vietnam, Argentina, Australia, Afghanistan, Brazil, Bosnia, Canada, Columbia, Dominican Republic, Spain, Ecuador, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Honduras, Croatia, Indonesia, India, United Kingdom, Jamaica, Kenya, Moldova, Montenegro, North Macedonia, Mexico, Peru, Nicaragua, Netherlands, Nepal, Panama, Philippines, Poland, Puerto Rico, Portugal, Serbia, Saudi Arabia, Sweden, Singapore, Thailand, Turkey, Tanzania, Uganda and more!
If you missed the 2024 Symposium or want to watch it again, we have posted the presentation recordings at ECHOautism.org!
Thank you to Veterans United Foundation
ECHO Autism Communities is grateful for Veterans United Foundation supporting our ECHO Autism Community Connections Program which is focused on connecting newly diagnosed patients on the autism spectrum and their families to critical best-practice services and resources recommended by their community-based diagnostician. VUF’s generous donation extends the positive impact to many children, adults, and their families primarily living in rural and underserved areas across Missouri.
Furthermore, the aim of the Connections Program directly promotes greater access to highly trained community-based autism diagnosticians who utilize the ECHO Autism Diagnostic Model, a framework that has proven to reduce the wait time for an autism evaluation and expedite access to key best-practice services and resources. ECHO Autism Communities is honored to partner with Veterans United Foundation to help Missourians on the autism spectrum build a strong foundation that supports their best life!
ECHO Autism Featured Program
This month, we’re excited to feature NHS England – Midland’s new program, ECHO Autism: Children and Young People Inpatient Services. This program launched in October 2023 and focused its efforts on reducing the number of autistic children and young adults who are hospitalized due to severe behaviors. The program’s emphasis on understanding behaviors such as communication and adjusting care approaches to meet the needs of autistic
individuals is a testament to the team’s dedication to improve the experience for all hospitalized autistic children and young people.
The positive feedback from participants is a clear indication of the program’s impact and the value it brings to both healthcare professionals and patients. “I will definitely adjust the way I approach children with autism when assessing their needs, ensuring I adapt my approach wherever necessary.” Congratulations, NHSE – Midlands team! We’re so excited about the success of your first series and can’t wait to see what happens next!
in-Neuro’s First ECHO Autism Program in Spain
In other exciting news, in-Neuro, our first ECHO Autism team in Spain, launched their inaugural program on March 11. This program focuses on education and marks a significant milestone for our international expansion and our ongoing efforts to make a positive impact on the autism community worldwide.
ECHO Autism Program Launches
We’re thrilled to share some exciting news about our partners!
UNM’s New Programs in New Mexico
The University of New Mexico has launched two ECHO Autism programs this year! Replicating the University of Missouri’s ECHO Autism model, they launched ECHO Autism: Primary Care and ECHO Autism: Advanced Diagnosis in March. Diagnosticians who participate in ECHO Autism: Advanced Diagnosis increase their knowledge and skill in autism best practices for evaluation and differential diagnosis. As numbers of children in need of access to a timely evaluation and intervention for autism spectrum disorder continues to rise, ECHO Autism: Primary Care aims to eliminate these barriers by promoting best practices among primary care clinicians through case-based learning and guided practice. Congratulations to UNM for addressing the urgent need for timely evaluation and intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD).
EMPOWER: Education in Mental health improves Patient Outcomes, Well-being, and Emotional Resiliency
We are pleased to share about the recent launch of the EMPOWER ECHO in March of 2024. This ECHO is part of a larger initiative by the American Board of Pediatrics (ABP), along with the Association of Pediatric Program Directors (APPD) and the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). With mental health issues on the rise in the pediatric population, there is an increasing gap in pediatrician’s competency in treating children and adolescents with Behavioral and Mental Health diagnoses. In fact, Pediatric Program Directors have identified “preparing residents to treat mental health conditions” as one of the most challenging issues facing program directors.
The primary aim of the EMPOWER project is to address the gap among training programs in BMH education by creating a standardized, comprehensive, and open-access curriculum that will be disseminated and implemented by pediatric residency training programs across the country. The EMPOWER ECHO is intended for pediatric residency program directors and faculty who are implementing the EMPOWER curriculum. This All Teach, All Learn model offers the opportunity for participating programs to offer feedback on the curriculum, discuss barriers to implementation, and receive updates. Congratulations to the EMPOWER ECHO hub team for the relentless work in launching this program.
We look forward to seeing the continued growth and success of these programs and the difference they will make for professionals and individuals within the autism community. Thank you to all our partners for their dedication and hard work!
