Autistic people experience substantial disparities in their health outcomes and their healthcare utilization and access. For instance, they may face delays in diagnosis, challenges with accessing care, poorer care quality, lower satisfaction with care, and limited access to healthcare providers trained to meet their specific needs. This symposium focuses on characterizing and ameliorating disparities in health and healthcare from childhood through the end of life, featuring two presentations that characterize disparities and two that seek to understand how interventions can ameliorate or exacerbate disparities. The first presentation aims to compare the odds of experiencing a fall and the rate of fall-related injuries between autistic and non-autistic older adults. The results suggest that autistic older adults have significantly higher odds of falling and a higher rate of fall-related injuries compared to non-autistic older adults. These findings highlight the urgent need for targeted fall prevention strategies for autistic older adults to reduce morbidity and mortality. The second presentation aims to compare hospice care utilization between autistic older adults and non-autistic older adults, and to determine if race, sex, region, and rurality influenced these rates. The results suggest that both autistic and non-autistic adults have similar odds of any hospice utilization and similar timing of hospice care, with no significant differences based on sex, race, or rurality. These findings suggest that autistic older adults receive comparable hospice care to their non-autistic peers, highlighting the potential effectiveness of universal health policies in reducing disparities. The third presentation aims to investigate the association between Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) receipt and mental health outcomes in autistic youth. The results suggest that those who received ABA were significantly more likely to experience mental health hospitalizations and had longer hospital stays compared to those who did not receive ABA. These findings highlight the need for further research into the potential unintended consequences of ABA on mental health. The final presentation aims to pilot test the feasibility, acceptability, appropriateness, and effectiveness of the PREPARE for Autistic Adults training program for resident physicians. The results suggest that the training was highly feasible, acceptable, and appropriate, with significant improvements in residents’ knowledge about autistic adults. These findings suggest that the training effectively fills a gap in medical education and enhances physicians’ ability to care for autistic adults. Overall, the symposium underscores the critical need for targeted interventions and policies to address healthcare disparities faced by autistic people across the lifespan.
Chair: Brittany Hand, The Ohio State University,
Second Chair: Lauren Bishop, University of Wisconsin-Madison,
First Presentation: Falls and Fall-Related Injuries in Autistic Older Adults: A Critical Public Health Issue
Melica Nikahd, The Ohio State University, Madison Blake, The Ohio State University; J. Madison Hyer, The Ohio State University; Bethany J. Wolf, University of South Carolina Medical Center; Brian Patterson, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Brittany Hand, The Ohio State University; & Lauren Bishop, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Second Presentation: Evaluation of Equity in Hospice Care Utilization Among Medicare-Enrolled Autistic Older Adults
Lauren Bishop, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Melica Nikahd, The Ohio State University; Bethany J. Wolf, Medical University of South Carolina; Brian W. Patterson, University of Wisconsin-Madison; Anne Longo, The Ohio State University; Deondray Radford, The Ohio State University; Emma Krantz, The Ohio State University; J. Madison Hyer, The Ohio State University; & Brittany N. Hand, The Ohio State University;
Third Presentation: The Association between Mental Health Hospitalizations and Applied Behavior Analysis Receipt among Autistic Youth
Nahime Aguirre Mtanous, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Waisman Center
Fourth Presentation: “It’s made me a better doctor”: Resident physicians’ experiences with an adult autism training designed with autistic adults and family members
Brittany Hand, The Ohio State University, Daniel Gilmore, The Ohio State University; J Madison Hyer, The Ohio State University; Holden DeVassie, The Ohio State University; Deondray Radford, The Ohio State University; PREPARE for Autistic Adults Advisory Board, The Ohio State University; Lisa Juckett, The Ohio State University; Christopher Hanks, The Ohio State University; Susan Havercamp, The Ohio State University; Daniel Coury, Nationwide Children’s Hospital