Identification of autism spectrum disorder and interprofessional collaboration between school and clinical settings

Providing high-quality services to autistic students and their caregivers requires interprofessional collaboration. This paper highlights the importance of collaboration between clinical and school settings to promote integrated and comprehensive care for autistic students and their caregivers. First, we present how autistic students are identified and diagnosed in school and clinical settings, with particular attention to how these processes impact access to services. Next, we present interprofessional collaborative practice (IPC) as a framework to facilitate increased collaboration between school and clinical providers working with autistic students. Key tenets of IPC that address barriers to collaboration and several examples of IPC are outlined. To assure readiness to engage in collaborative practice, we discuss graduate interprofessional education (IPE) as a means to train emerging professionals in IPC for autistic students. Finally, we highlight several examples of IPE training programs specific to autism and related developmental disabilities.