Psychiatry training in autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability: Ongoing gaps and emerging opportunities.

Marrus et al. (2023) sent a survey to psychiatry residency directors across the United States. They asked how many hours residents spend learning about autism and intellectual disability. They also asked how often residents see patients with these diagnoses.

Most programs give residents almost no formal class time on ASD or ID. Patient contact hours are slim too. Directors said they want ready-made slides, cases, and rotation plans they can plug in tomorrow.

Adams et al. (2021) asked the same questions to a wider group of nurses, therapists, and doctors. Daily contact with patients, not lectures, made those workers feel ready. The new paper shows psychiatry trainees still lack that daily contact.

Burack et al. (2004) and Smith et al. (1997) found the exact same gaps in general-practice doctors almost twenty years ago. The problem has jumped specialties but never closed.

Li et al. (2018) surveyed BCBAs and found the same story: little training, little team involvement. The training hole is everywhere, not just in medicine.

If you work with clients who take psych meds, you likely sit in meetings with psychiatrists who had almost zero ASD/ID training. Hand them a one-page visual summary or offer to co-teach a short didactic. Small moves like these can fill the gap until formal rotations arrive.