Implications for health practice and policy
autistic, Autism Spectrum Disorders, autism
The findings from this study indicate the need for increased awareness about the importance of developmental screening/surveillance, including for autism, amongst primary care clinicians such as GPs. This should focus on providing education and training about developmental milestones in general and early signs of autism to facilitate early identification alongside pathways for effective support and services for those children identified to have developmental difference or found to have a likelihood of being diagnosed as autistic. Unifying the developmental surveillance approaches using relevant health policies and guidelines (e.g. National Guideline for the assessment and diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Australia) [It is also important to increase awareness among parents/caregivers and families, including those from CALD communities, by making available freely-accessible screening tools (such as the ASDetect mobile application, which is based on the SACS tool), [Some GP clinics that have participated in our project are very much still comfortable in paper-based work and were not comfortable switching to online mode of operation. The shift to digital delivery means greater efficiencies, specifically in terms of time and instant communication of results and recommendations with the relevant healthcare professionals. However, the pandemic has seen a shift in the general attitude towards digital systems with telehealth practice becoming increasingly available and acceptable to both patients and to service providers [