Bridging Care Gaps: Using Tele-health to Provide Care for People With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Objectives: Explore the usage of telehealth to conduct diagnostic assessments and interventions for people with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Methods: A Pubmed search was conducted using the words telehealth, telemedicine, video conferencing and telepyschiatry in conjunction with the words Autism Spectrum Disorder, Autism, Asperger's, and Developmental Disabilities. Personal experience from the first author, a telehealth and ASD expert, was also utilized.

Results: While telehealth usage and satisfaction are high, its utility in the diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder is limited. There are few studies to support the validity of the ADOS and ADI, gold standard diagnostic tools, when administered via videoconferencing.

Conclusion: Telehealth with high quality videoconferencing to provide health care, is an excellent venue to see patients with ASD that live far from experts. Its suitability as the venue for diagnostic assessment is acutely limited. It is a useful tool to triage and engage patients and families, an effective venue to provide education and training for caregivers, healthcare providers and other professionals and an effective modality to provide symptom management.