The Game Changing Impact of Early Autism Diagnosis

When we brought leaders together for our 3rd annual IDD and Autism Leadership Summit, I knew that among all the important subjects we’d discuss, one topic would resonate deeply: early autism diagnosis. Not because early diagnosis is new, but because the opportunity to intervene as early as 16 months as opposed to four or five years old offers a profound opportunity for families.  As both the host of this day-long summit and someone who works closely with providers navigating these realities every day, I felt a responsibility to slow the conversation down and examine what earlier, more objective diagnosis could truly mean for children, families and the people that serve them.

What we heard during the session led by EarliPoint Health reinforced something many in this field already know instinctively. Early diagnosis is not just a clinical milestone. It is a life-shaping moment, one that can open doors and illuminate new paths to interventions and methods that support a full, thriving life. 

The cost of waiting

A sobering reality shared during our summit was how misaligned the current diagnostic assessments are with what science already tells us. Autism prevalence continues to rise, with the most recent CDC data estimating that one in 31 children is now identified with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), based on 2022 data. Yet despite decades of research confirming that autism can be detected at a much earlier age, children in the United States are still diagnosed, on average, between ages four and five.

Founder and Chief Clinical Officer of EarliPoint Health, Dr. Ami Klin and Jamie Pagliaro, President, CEO explained, the healthcare system routinely misses a critical developmental window. This is often because families are told to “wait and see,” leading to diagnostic system bottlenecks, or there are simply not enough trained clinicians available to assess young children. The result is what Dr. Klin described as a “diagnostic odyssey,” where families sense something is wrong but lack the clarity or confirmation needed to move forward. They then embark on what may feel like an unending journey for answers and interventions fraught with dead ends, false starts and strained hope.

What struck me most was how clearly this delay contradicts what families actually want. As Dr. Klin said during the session, “Parents don’t want a diagnosis. What they really want is help for their child. And they want to see progress.” Diagnosis is not the end goal. It is the gateway to the rest of a child’s life.

Diagnosis timing matters as much as accuracy

The science behind early intervention is both compelling and consistent. Children who receive diagnosis and begin intervention before the age of three experience markedly better outcomes. During the session, EarliPoint Health leaders cited research showing that early access to treatment is associated with higher intellectual functioning, improved participation in general education settings and significant reductions in long-term lifetime care costs.

Dr. Klin framed this through a developmental lens. The first two years of life represent an extraordinary period of brain plasticity. Experiences during this time quite literally shape neural structure and connectivity. When children miss thousands of small social learning moments each day—as can happen with ASD—those missed moments accumulate. Early detection creates the opportunity to intervene while those pathways are still developing.

This is why the timing of diagnosis matters just as much as accuracy.

Moving from observation to objective measurement

What makes EarliPoint Health’s approach a particularly special gift for families is how it translates decades of developmental science into something scalable and clinically usable. The EarliPoint technology is an FDA-cleared diagnostic tool that uses eye-tracking technology to assess social visual engagement in children as young as sixteen months.

Rather than relying solely on subjective observation, the technology measures how children attend to social interactions hundreds of times per second. These measurements generate standardized, quantitative insights that support diagnostic confidence, assess severity and allow clinicians to track outcomes over time.

As Dr. Klin noted, even expert clinicians report suboptimal confidence in diagnosis in roughly thirty percent of complex cases when relying on traditional tools alone. Objective biomarkers do not replace clinicians. They give them better information sooner, while freeing valuable time to focus on families and next steps.

What it means for families and children

For children, the benefit is even more direct. Earlier identification enables developmentally aligned support at a time when intervention has the greatest potential to alter long-term outcomes. Repeated assessments help refine individualized treatment plans as children grow, ensuring care remains responsive rather than reactive. 

For families, earlier and clearer insight reduces one of the most painful aspects of the autism journey: uncertainty. Structured, easy-to-understand reports help support more productive conversations with care teams and reduce the emotional toll of waiting months or years for answers. 

What early diagnosis means for providers

From a provider perspective, the implications are substantial. EarliPoint Health’s evaluation can be administered by trained staff without requiring a clinician to be present during the data collection phase, allowing organizations to triage children earlier in the diagnostic process. Automated reporting and standardized documentation reduce administrative burden and support more consistent decision-making.

Just as importantly, longitudinal measurement allows care teams to see whether interventions are working and adjust accordingly. Diagnosis becomes the beginning of an informed care pathway rather than a static label.

That shift matters in a workforce already under strain. Early autism diagnosis holds the potential to lengthen care timelines by allowing earlier access and help reduce bottlenecks for families straining to consult with experts.

A shared responsibility

What stayed with me after this session was Dr. Klin’s framing of diagnosis as not just a technical challenge, but a moral one. Improving the diagnostic process, he argued, is a professional and public health imperative, particularly given the disparities faced by low-income, rural and historically marginalized families who wait the longest for services.

That perspective aligns closely with why this partnership exists in the first place. When clinical science, technology and care delivery are aligned around a shared purpose, EarliPoint Health and Netsmart move closer to a system that delivers clarity and consistency sooner and makes support more equitably.

Early autism diagnosis will not solve every challenge facing the autism community. But as we embark on a new year full of new possibilities, it is one of the most powerful places to start.