Staff Perceptions and Implementation Fidelity of an Autism Spectrum Disorder Care Pathway on a Child/Adolescent General Psychiatric Inpatient Service

Donnelly et al. (2021) rolled out an autism care pathway on a child and teen psychiatric unit. The pathway gave staff three tools: picture cards for talking, quick reward lists, and step-by-step calm-down plans.

They asked ward staff what helped most and tracked how often kids needed crisis holds or seclusion.

Staff said the picture cards and reward lists were the best parts. Units that wrote down each kid's favorite rewards during the first week later used fewer crisis interventions.

Leng et al. (2024) asked eating-disorder clinicians about their own autism pathway. Both teams praise the same pieces—visual aids and early reward planning—showing the idea travels across wards.

McGonigle et al. (2014) only handed out autism tip sheets to ER workers. Donnelly moves past handouts by building the tools into daily paperwork, a step-up from one-off training.

Garrick et al. (2022) surveyed Australian parents who felt ER staff lacked autism know-how. Donnelly's pathway answers that gap with built-in visual and reward steps, cutting the very crisis events parents fear.

If you work on an inpatient unit, start each admission with a five-minute reward hunt. Ask the child, family, and nurses to list three sure-fire reinforcers and post the list at the bedside. Pair the list with a simple picture schedule. This small front-end work can spare your team from later restraints and keep the stay shorter and calmer.