Implementation of a Practice Development Model to Reduce the Wait for Autism Spectrum Diagnosis in Adults.

There was no control group, so the reduction could be due to other changes or to services knowing their performance was being monitored. Participating services chose to join, so they may have been more motivated to change than services that did not participate. The program bundled pathways, documentation, mentorship, peer forums, practice changes and validation roles, and the study could not identify which component mattered. Wait times varied by service: 5 of 11 services reduced wait times, 4 increased them, and 2 had no post-program referrals. Missing data were excluded from some analyses, leaving 62 pre-program cases and 84 post-program cases for the wait-time comparison. One service reported a 52-week reduction, but it had only 2 referrals in each phase, so it may not generalise.

The only funding or conflicts statement supplied is that the funder was the Scottish Government.

Do not read the reduction of 29.9 days as proof that the Flightgate model caused faster diagnosis. The study had no control group, services self-selected, and the program included pathways, documentation, mentorship, peer forums, practice changes and validation roles, so the contribution of any single component cannot be separated.