A Non-exhaustive Compilation of Outside Resources for Physicians

Compiled by Isabelle Mawby, BS (4^th Year Medical Student)
Association for Science in Autism Treatment

There are thousands of resources across the internet aimed at providing healthcare professionals guidance in the diagnosis and management of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This page serves as a non-exhaustive guide by listing and describing a variety of well accredited and informative articles and resources online. We will update this page periodically.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is an organization representing a group of over 67,000 pediatricians. The organization aims to provide the most up-to-date information for pediatricians across the United States to optimize the physical, mental, and social health and well-being for all infants, children, adolescents, and young adults. First, the AAP helped publish numerous clinical reports and guidelines regarding ASD listed below.

• Caring for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Practical Resource Toolkit for Clinicians, 3rd edition.
• Committee on Hospital care and Institute for Patient- and Family- Centered Care; Patient- and Family-Centered Care and the Pediatrician’s Role. (2012).
• American Academy of Pediatrics, Council on Children With Disabilities and Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Clinical report: Identification, evaluation, and management of children with autism spectrum disorder (2020).
• American Academy of Pediatrics, Council on Children With Disabilities and Section on Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. Executive summary: Identification, evaluation, and management of children with autism spectrum disorder (2020).
• Additionally, please see ASAT’s two part summary on the evaluation and management of children with ASD, part 1 and part 2.

Additionally, the AAP Journal “Pediatrics” and American Academy of Family Physicians (AAFP) have also published multiple systematic reviews on various topics pertaining to ASD.

• Patient- and Family-Centered Care and the Pediatrician’s Role (2012).
• Interventions Targeting Sensory Challenges in Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review (2017).
• Nutritional and Dietary Interventions for Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review (2017).
• Medications for Adolescents and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review (2012).
• A Systematic Review of Medical Treatments for Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (2011).
• A Systematic Review of Early Intensive Intervention for Autism Spectrum Disorders (2011).
• Autism Spectrum Disorder: Primary Care Principles. (2016).

The Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, abbreviated AHRQ, has published multiple evidence-based resources pertaining to ASD on behalf of the United States Department of Health and Human services.

• AHRQ Summary of Medical Therapies for Children with ASD (2017)
• AHRQ Medical Therapies for Children with Autism Update (2017)
• AHRQ Interventions Targeting Sensory Challenges in Children with Autism Update (2017)

Autism Speaks is a national organization dedicated to advocating for the needs of individuals with autism and their families. Through their webpage, this organization has a comprehensive section for healthcare professionals discussing everything from genetics, to managing constipation, to disparities in healthcare.

• Healthcare Professional | Autism Speaks

National Autism Center at the May Institute addressing the need for evidence-based practice standards and providing guidelines for how to make choices among scores of autism treatments through a series of reports linked below.

• Phase 1 National Autism Center (2009)
• Phase 2 National Autism Center (2015)
• Phase 3 National Autism Center (2021 was projected publication year).

In addition, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill has recently published two helpful reports:

• Evidence-Based Practices for Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder (2014).
• Evidence-Based Practices for Children, Youth, and Young Adults with Autism: Third Generation Review (2021).

Citation for this article:

Mawby, I. (2022). A Non-exhaustive compilation of outside resources for physicians. Science in Autism Treatment, 19(10).