Mental Health Blog

Bridging the Autism Care Gap: What to Expect from REACH’s New Autism Essentials Course

• June 26, 2026
• The REACH Institute
• Autism, Child mental health, Pediatric primary care

Current CDC data shows that roughly one in 31 children has Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Yet, there are fewer than 700 Developmental-Behavioral Pediatricians (DBPs) nationwide.

Elizabeth W. Barnhardt, DO, MA(Ed), an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at The Ohio State University and Attending Physician at Nationwide Children’s Hospital, underscores the gravity of this gap: “This means there’s basically one developmental behavioral pediatrician per every 100,000 kids that could potentially need us. So, in the context of the increasing prevalence of autism, it makes it necessary for primary care clinicians (PCCs) to be competent and comfortable caring for this population.”

With this in mind, Dr. Barnhardt and the Society for Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics (SDBP) partnered with The REACH Institute to create an Autism Essentials course to help PCCs provide better care for this growing population.

We asked Dr. Barnhardt to share the specifics on the course and insights into how PCCs can best support patients with ASD.

The Necessary Shift to Neurodiversity-Affirming Care 

Preliminary survey evaluation data from REACH’s longstanding Patient-Centered Mental Health in Pediatric Primary Care (PPP) course made it clear that clinicians need a separate, more targeted training on supporting ASD patients. 

This need is driven not just by rising ASD numbers (Over the past 20 years, autism diagnoses have increased by about 300%), but by how frequently autism is overlooked due to common mental health comorbidities. 

“Mental health concerns in particular are really common in children and adults with autism,” Dr. Barnhardt notes. In fact, a study evaluating the effectiveness of the Mini International Neuropsychiatric Interview (MINI) in assessing co-occurring psychiatric disorders in youth with ASD showed that 91% of autistic children and adolescents, and 31% of autistic young adults, met the criteria for one or more co-occurring mental health diagnoses.

“And this is all in the setting of a national behavioral health crisis that I think particularly impacts children and youth with autism, in part due to the lack of providers with skills and expertise in caring for this population,” says Dr. Barnhardt. 

To bridge this gap, the course focuses on managing co-occurring psychiatric disorders in youth with ASD and improving holistic quality of life. Dr. Barnhardt explains that it’s important to “view autism as a part of somebody’s identity, with our treatment and support aimed at helping improve quality of life. Teaching participants to provide neuro-affirming assessment and care was a really big goal for us in developing this course.”

Inside the One-Day Course

Autism Essentials covers four major areas of clinical application, each based on what parents and clinicians need most to be able to support children with ASD through a neurodiversity-affirming lens.

Screening & Demystifying Diagnostics: Participants will look at different methods for screening for autism in the medical home, learning about the importance of early identification, how to review autism assessments, understanding psychological test results, and reviewing school-based assessments. (As Dr. Barnhardt notes, this course teaches clinicians how to identify suspicions of autism and get kids connected to services, not how to formally diagnose it.)

Medical Needs & Coexisting Diagnoses: Clinicians will learn tools to help evaluate and manage the medical and mental health concerns that commonly co-occur with autism, including how to address behavioral difficulties, developmental challenges, anxiety, and ADHD, including specific units on medication management. 

Individualized Therapies & School Advocacy: Participants will learn to recommend behavioral therapies based on a child’s unique developmental profile. The course also covers how school systems work, how to get appropriate support in place, and how to help families advocate for their child’s legal rights.

Practice Optimization & Neuro-Affirming Environments: To support busy clinicians, the course teaches strategies like time-based billing and efficient workflows to manage care within short appointments. It also covers how to implement an autism-friendly environment by modifying sensory factors and using behavioral strategies.

Interactive & Adult-Learner Focused

This live, one-day course is intentionally designed to engage participants and keep the focus on real-world application.

“We follow an adult learning model,” Dr. Barnhardt emphasizes. “Throughout the course, there are a lot of opportunities for case discussion and role-playing. Participants will be able to chime in, answer multiple-choice questions related to some of the topics we’re discussing, and talk about things that they’re seeing in their practice that are challenging.”

Dr. Barnhardt notes that participants will also gain access to a resource library designed for continued professional education, as well as materials to share directly with parents and caregivers to use at home.

Who is this for? 

This training is built for any primary care clinician, including pediatricians, family medicine doctors, nurse practitioners, and physician assistants, who want to deliver comprehensive, neuro-affirming ongoing care to autistic youth. The curriculum is designed to meet participants where they’re at, whether they have very little experience managing autism or are looking to deepen existing expertise.

This course is especially critical for community clinicians practicing in areas facing severe specialist shortages, where families face massive waitlists or have no local access to care.

As Dr. Barnhardt points out, there are entire counties without specialized developmental pediatricians, and in some places, no board-certified pediatricians at all. Because of these severe gaps, she emphasizes that local community clinicians and family medicine providers (along with their patients) can benefit immensely from integrating the practical tools learned in this course.

Course Details & Registration

• When: November 7, 2026
• Duration: One-day live course, followed by four 1-hour group learning calls
• Format: Virtual
• Cost: $600
• Register here