From screening to specialty care: Leveraging primary care integrated psychologists to reduce barriers to autism diagnosis.

INTRODUCTION: Families of children with suspected autism spectrum disorder, especially those from minority or medically underserved groups, often face multiple barriers to autism evaluation and diagnosis. This subsequently delays access to much-needed interventions. In addition to systemic barriers (e.g., suboptimal screening and provider training, long waitlists), family-level factors including family mistrust of medical providers, disability stigma, and challenges with care navigation further contribute to care gaps. METHOD: Innovative integrated care models are essential to enhance provider-family relationships and reduce care discrepancies. This conceptual article explores using a multitiered framework within an integrated care model to help mitigate barriers to care and reduce delays to diagnosis for pediatric primary care patients with suspected autism. RESULTS: Integrated psychologists partnered with families and primary care physicians to provide tiered supports for children with suspected autism based on both family readiness and level of impairment. Flexible yet coordinated strategies such as universal psychology prevention visits, targeted intervention referrals, and specialty care referrals with care navigation, were offered. DISCUSSION: Our care model suggests that the three-tiered framework involving integrated psychology may help reduce care gaps between primary care and specialty autism care and enhance relationships with families of children with suspected autism in medical settings. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2026 APA, all rights reserved).