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What is On-Time Autism Intervention (OTAI)?

Photo: Student and teacher working together in an EEU classroom setting.The University of Washington’s On-Time Autism Intervention (OTAI) is a collaborative project led by the UW’s Autism Center and Haring Center for Inclusive Education. Funded through a Seattle Foundation grant, the work of OTAI aims to increase access to timely diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and evidence-based intervention for young children and their families across King County.

Problem Statement: A practice gap exists in King County that permits inequitable access to timely diagnosis and evidence-based intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Solution? Innovate practice: Pilot and evaluate novel collaborative approaches within King County to change screening, diagnosis, and post-diagnosis navigation & support strategies based on gold-standard evidence.

What Are Some Goals of OTAI? Develop, implement, evaluate, and disseminate a practice framework to guide the work of community-based practitioners to provide access to diagnostic and intervention services soon after concerns about a child arise.

Photo: Young student working on an assignment in the EEU at the Haring Center.The On-Time Autism Intervention (OTAI) Project is a research-community partnership focused on engaging community partners, supporting community providers through collaboration and training, and is currently conducting pilot work in the community. We believe that all children should have access to diagnostic services, parent support and navigation, and intervention services as soon as autism symptoms emerge or as soon as a caregiver has concerns. Our work is focused on the first three years. Entry into services under 3 years of age is often referred to as “early” (as in early diagnosis or early intervention); we believe that access to services should instead be considered “on-time.”

The primary focus of our work is to increase access to on-time autism intervention for all children affected by autism, with an emphasis on addressing health equity disparities by developing a framework for reaching traditionally underserved populations. Our work is guided by four pillars:

  1. Collaboration
  2. On-time autism diagnosis
  3. On-time and ongoing parent navigation and support
  4. On-time child-focused autism intervention.