About Child First Autism

Since 2004, I have worked with children and families in a therapeutic capacity, and in 2009, I began my first post-graduate position as a clinical psychologist at a busy community mental health center. Families traveled from across several counties for the specialized autism assessment services offered there, and it was in that role that I started completing psychological evaluations for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Back then, insurance rarely covered the interventions these children needed most. I spent countless hours diagnosing young children, only to inform their families that the most effective treatments were not covered and were prohibitively expensive, despite their efforts in traveling such long distances for answers.

A few years later, due to the tireless advocacy of parents, insurance coverage for ASD services expanded significantly. Demand increased almost overnight, outpacing the ability of providers to keep up. Insurance companies began requiring an official diagnosis, substantiated by specific testing measures, before a child could qualify for services. Unfortunately, there remained too few trained diagnostic providers, resulting in long wait lists that persist today. The demand has only intensified, and the wait times still have not improved.

Since 2023, I have been conducting telehealth ASD evaluations and have repeatedly heard this story from the families I serve: a two-year-old facing a wait of six months, twelve months, or even longer just to initiate the diagnostic process before therapy can even start. Research clearly indicates that early intervention is crucial for young children with developmental delays, yet families are often advised to wait a year or more before treatment is available.

To address this issue, I founded Child First Autism, aiming to close that gap. Telehealth enables me to provide autism assessments to families nearly anywhere in the country, including rural and underserved areas, eliminating the need for significant travel. This approach also facilitates faster access to diagnostic services, without waiting for building schedules or staff availability, leading to a more accurate picture of a child evaluated in the comfort of their own home, allowing them to act naturally.

My hope is straightforward: to assist children in obtaining the right diagnosis and the appropriate care as early as possible.

Since 2004, I have worked with children and families in a therapeutic capacity, and in 2009, I began my first post-graduate position as a clinical psychologist at a busy community mental health center. Families traveled from across several counties for the specialized autism assessment services offered there, and it was in that role that I started completing psychological evaluations for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

Back then, insurance rarely covered the interventions these children needed most. I spent countless hours diagnosing young children, only to inform their families that the most effective treatments were not covered and were prohibitively expensive, despite their efforts in traveling such long distances for answers.

A few years later, due to the tireless advocacy of parents, insurance coverage for ASD services expanded significantly. Demand increased almost overnight, outpacing the ability of providers to keep up. Insurance companies began requiring an official diagnosis, substantiated by specific testing measures, before a child could qualify for services. Unfortunately, there remained too few trained diagnostic providers, resulting in long wait lists that persist today. The demand has only intensified, and the wait times still have not improved.

Since 2023, I have been conducting telehealth ASD evaluations and have repeatedly heard this story from the families I serve: a two-year-old facing a wait of six months, twelve months, or even longer just to initiate the diagnostic process before therapy can even start. Research clearly indicates that early intervention is crucial for young children with developmental delays, yet families are often advised to wait a year or more before treatment is available.

To address this issue, I founded Child First Autism, aiming to close that gap. Telehealth enables me to provide autism assessments to families nearly anywhere in the country, including rural and underserved areas, eliminating the need for significant travel. This approach also facilitates faster access to diagnostic services, without waiting for building schedules or staff availability, leading to a more accurate picture of a child evaluated in the comfort of their own home, allowing them to act naturally.

My hope is straightforward: to assist children in obtaining the right diagnosis and the appropriate care as early as possible.