Service Delivery

Diagnosis and Management of Autism Spectrum Disorders in Russia: Clinical-Biological Approaches.

Simashkova et al. (2019) · Journal of autism and developmental disorders 2019
★ The Verdict

Russia wants lifespan medical checks plus better staff training, and three BST studies already show how to train staff fast.

✓ Read this if BCBAs who train staff or oversee clinics serving kids with ASD.
✗ Skip if Practitioners looking for new intervention protocols; this paper gives no treatment data.

01Research in Context

01

What this study did

A team of Russian doctors wrote a big-picture paper about how autism is handled in their country.

They looked at how many kids have ASD, how doctors spot it, and what treatments families can get.

The paper mixes biology with behavior plans and urges clinics to share data across borders.

02

What they found

Russia now checks for medical issues across the lifespan, not just at diagnosis.

Doctors are told to add lab work, sleep studies, and genetic tests to each child’s plan.

The paper gives no numbers; it is a map, not a scoreboard.

03

How this fits with other research

Hillman et al. (2021) showed that adults with ASD can learn DTT with BST and keep the skill for weeks.

Jimenez-Gomez et al. (2019) proved BST also works for naturalistic play skills.

Together these studies answer the Russian call for better training tools: BST packages are ready to ship.

Blackman et al. (2023) warn that most BCBAs still lack supervisor training, so any new rollout must teach the teachers first.

04

Why it matters

If you run a clinic, pair the Russian checklist with a BST package from Hillman or Jimenez-Gomez.

Start with a computer module like Mount et al. (2011) to save staff time, then add live feedback.

Track both medical and skill data to see if the extra labs change client progress.

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Pick one BST module from R et al. (2011) and run it with your new hires this week.

02At a glance

Intervention
not applicable
Design
narrative review
Population
autism spectrum disorder
Finding
not reported

03Original abstract

The study describes the latest recommended and adopted clinical and management practice for children and adults with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) in Russia and discusses the most recent research work by Russian clinicians and neuroscientists in the field. The study also presents data from the first epidemiological studies on ASD prevalence and explores the latest recommendations for clinical-biological assessments for ASD diagnosis and management in Russia. The authors call for collaboration of experts in ASD field to exchange clinical and research ideas between professionals from Russia and Western European countries and expand our mutual knowledge about ASD. This should include clinical and neurobiological studies aiming to develop differential rational approaches for ASD individual management throughout lifespan of these affected individuals.

Journal of autism and developmental disorders, 2019 · doi:10.1007/s10803-019-04071-4