Vision Screening in Young Children with Autism

Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have greater unmet healthcare needs compared with typically developing peers, including delays in seeking medical care, inadequate insurance coverage, and inability to access necessary therapy services. Many children with ASD do not receive recommended vision care. Based on an analysis of the National Survey of Children’s Health data from 2011 to 2012, ∼80% of children with ASD had a vision screening. Only 9% of children <5 years old with ASD had a screening at their pediatrician's office, and there were low referral rates to eye care specialists when screening was performed. The research team previously used Nemours' PEDSnet database to study rates of vision screening in primary care for young children with autism. They used vision screening (visual acuity and instrument-based) billing codes as a proxy for the completion of vision screening in primary care. They examined the effects of age, gender, race, ethnicity, insurance, and practice location on vision screening. These results were published in Pediatrics in April 2023 (attached) and would like to replicate the study using multicenter data. Aim 1: Determine the rate of total vision screening in young autistic children compared to control Aim 2: Determine the rate of visual acuity screening in young autistic children compared to control Aim 3: Determine the rate instrument-based vision screening in young autistic children compared to control Aim 4: Complete an analysis of vision screening for different demographic data