Dangerous, destructive, and disruptive behaviors are a more prevalent problem amongst individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) than their typically developing peers. Research suggests that one third of children with ASD exhibit problem behavior in the clinically significant range. Many of these problem behaviors can be of such severity that they require exclusion from community/educational services and peers, or cause significant injury and can be life threatening for the individual or their caregivers.

The purpose of this study is to measure the quality of care provided at the Autism Clinic at Children’s Hughes Spalding in order to improve the services offered to families and their children. The study was also designed to identify barriers to autism diagnosis and services for low-income, minority, and/or other under served children and their families. The study is a mixed-method approach consisting of a 78-item quality of care survey and in-depth interviews conducted with primary caregivers whose children receive services at the Autism Clinic.

We are developing methods and tools to identify, analyze, visualize, and improve healthcare delivery processes (careflows). We will leverage existing digital clinical, financial, and administrative data to (1) computationally understand complex careflow processes with their associated costs and outcomes and (2) determine variations in these processes by provider, provider types, patient strata, and health contexts. Our approach is condition and care venue agnostic but, for this phase, we will focus our careflow analysis for pediatric asthma in the emergency department (ED).