Treatment patterns in children with autism in the United States.
Rural kids with autism get fewer therapy hours than city kids, and insurance type does not fix the gap.
01Research in Context
What this study did
Monz et al. (2019) asked parents across the United States how many hours of therapy their child with autism was getting. They compared rural and urban kids and looked at whether insurance type changed the numbers.
The survey found that almost every child (96%) got some service, but kids outside big cities received fewer hours of behavioral therapy and speech-language therapy.
What they found
Rural kids sat in fewer therapy hours each week than city kids. The gap stayed even when families had Medicaid or private insurance.
Insurance type did not even out the rural-urban difference. Geography, not coverage, predicted how much therapy a child received.
How this fits with other research
Slater et al. (2020) showed that 25 hours per week helps only toddlers with mild autism symptoms. Linstead et al. (2017) found more hours each week and more months of care lead to bigger skill jumps. Together these studies say the rural hour gap likely blunts learning.
Han et al. (2025) pooled 25 trials and confirmed that high-intensity ABA gives medium language gains. Tiede et al. (2019) saw the same for naturalistic teaching. The survey by U et al. maps where those very services fall short.
Heald et al. (2020) added that state lines, not just rural lines, shape service access for teens. The theme is clear: where you live decides what you get.
Why it matters
If you serve rural clients, expect lower weekly doses than your urban peers. Push for telehealth blocks, group camps, or travel funding to bridge the hour gap. Track progress closely; when intensity jumps, skills can too. Document the shortfall in reports—insurance may approve extra hours if you show the rural data.
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02At a glance
03Original abstract
Children with autism receive different types of non-drug treatments. We aimed to describe caregiver-reported pattern of care and its variability by geography and healthcare coverage in a US-wide sample of children aged 3-17 years. We recruited caregivers from the Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research for Knowledge (SPARK) cohort. Two online questionnaires (non-drug treatment, Autism Impact Measure) were completed in September/October 2017. Primary outcome measures were caregiver-reported types and intensities of treatments (behavioral, developmental/relationship, speech and language (SLT), occupational, psychological, "other"; parent/caregiver training) in the previous 12 months. Main explanatory variables were geography and type of healthcare coverage. We investigated associations between the type/intensity of treatments and geography (metropolitan/nonmetropolitan) or coverage (Medicaid vs privately insured by employer) using regression analysis. Caregivers (n = 5,122) were mainly mothers (92.1%) with mean (SD) age of 39.0 (7.3) years. Mean child age was 9.1 (3.9) years; mostly males (80.0%). Almost all children received at least one intervention (96.0%). Eighty percent received SLT or occupational therapy, while 52.0% received both. Behavioral therapy and SLT were significantly more frequent and more intense in metropolitan than in nonmetropolitan areas. No consistently significant associations were seen between healthcare coverage and frequency or intensity of interventions. At least one barrier such as "waiting list" and "no coverage" was reported by 44.8%. In conclusion, in children sampled from SPARK, we observed differences between metropolitan and nonmetropolitan areas, while we did not find significant differences between those privately insured versus Medicaid. Autism Res 2019, 12: 517-526 © 2019 The Authors. Autism Research published by International Society for Autism Research published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry recommends the use of multiple treatment modalities in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We wanted to understand what types of treatment children (aged 3-17 years) with ASD receive in the United States, how and where the treatments take place and for how long. We invited caregivers from Simons Foundation Powering Autism Research for Knowledge ("SPARK ," https://sparkforautism.org/) to complete the study questions online. Participants reported on utilization of conventional, non-drug treatments for ASD, including behavioral interventions, developmental/relationship interventions, speech and language therapy (SLT), occupational therapy, psychological therapy, and parent/caregiver training. People that completed the study (n = 5,122) were primarily mothers of the child with ASD (92%); most of the children were boys (80%). The ASD care for the child was mostly coordinating by the mother. Almost all children received at least some type of non-drug therapies (96%), most often SLT and/or occupational therapy, mainly provided in school. Behavioral therapy was most often received in public school in rural areas, while at home in urban areas. We saw less use of behavioral therapy and SLT in rural areas, but overall comparable use between children covered by Medicaid and those covered by private insurance. Almost half the caregivers reported at least one barrier to treatment, such as "waiting list" and "no coverage." More than half said that their child benefited "much" or "very much" from the therapies received. While overall non-drug treatment rates for children with ASD were high in the United States in our study, differences existed depending on where the family lives; not only regarding the type of therapy, but also where it takes place.
Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research, 2019 · doi:10.1002/aur.2070