By: Kristen Sohl, associate professor of clinical child health and director of ECHO Autism University of Missouri Health Care
If you think your child could have autism, you might be unsure about what to do next. You’ve noticed the warning signs: repetitive behavior like hand-flapping and rocking back and forth, limited eye contact and speech, even failure to respond to their own name. You want to get your child the diagnosis and care they need, but there’s a problem: the nearest autism care center is hundreds of miles away, and if you manage to make the trip, you might face a wait list that is months or sometimes even years long.