Autism is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the United States. Proactive adult behaviors leading to early intervention are a child’s best hope to reach their full potential. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention partnered with Porter Novelli to develop a public health campaign called “Learn the Signs. Act Early.” The goal of this campaign was to increase awareness about the early warning signs of autism to help invoke positive behaviors in parents so that children receive services at the youngest age possible. HealthStyles survey data were analyzed to assess the difference in level of autism awareness of those surveyed before the campaign launch and of those surveyed two years post-campaign launch. Association between awareness of autism and early intervention behavior was also examined. Results of the study show improvements in awareness of autism issues; however, the results indicate minimal association between awareness and early intervention behavior. Further research efforts are essential to modify the campaign and target the issues necessary to instigate early intervention behavior.

This qualitative multiple case study addresses kindergarten teachers’ and transitional kindergarten teachers’ self-perceived abilities to meet the needs of students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) who participate in early intervention behavior therapy (EIBT) programs. Systems thinking was used to examine the participants’ interactions with the school site-based and EIBT-based support systems within which they were expected to operate. Personal interviews conducted at three intervals during the first five months of the 2015-16 school year rendered three emergent themes: participants initially reported feeling more confident meeting the academic versus the social/behavioral needs of their EIBT students, but that position reversed for two participants during the course of the study; participants reported in-class support aides provided by EIBT agencies were superior to aides provided by their school districts, and; participants preferred having a single ‘go-to’ support person at their school site to having a robust, wide-ranging support system. Contains recommendations for establishing subsystems that foster inner- and intra-support system communication and raising ASD awareness.