"There is nothing"-Exploring diagnostic and service access for autistic individuals in Uruguay: A qualitative study.
Maria Cecilia Montenegro, Gabriela Garrido, Leyla Feize and 3 others
PMID 40528284WHAT IT FOUND
Uruguayan caregivers described autism care as delayed and fragmented: doctors avoided naming autism, rushed diagnoses, and families travelled long distances.
Services were often the same psychomotor and speech therapy mix, not tailored to each child.
Key findings
01Caregivers described delays caused by referral requirements and clinicians' reluctance to name autism.
02Most parents reported the same treatment approach being offered to their children, frequently a combination of psychomotor therapy and speech therapy.
03Key informants said therapists delivering services were often not trained for autism, and occupational therapists were not prepared for sensory issues.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they foundWhat it means for OTsWhat it means for SLPs
Read the rest of this summary
You get three full summaries a month, free, and we do not ask for a card. Search, the TL;DRs and your library stay unlimited either way.
What it does not show
12 caregivers and 3 key informants is a small purposive sample, and the paper states the goal is not to generalise. All caregivers were mothers, and no autistic individuals themselves were interviewed. The sample included 8 caregivers from the interior and 4 from Montevideo, so it may not represent other families or professionals. The paper says level of support or severity of impairment was not available because the diagnostic process gave parents little information. One researcher conducted the interviews and all coding, and themes were revised by the researcher and one co-author. The study describes experiences in Uruguay and does not test whether any service improves outcomes.
Declared interests
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest and no financial support for the research.
The easy way to misread this
Do not read the reported service mix as proof that children receive evidence-based autism care. The paper says psychomotor intervention lacks strong empirical support for autistic individuals, and therapists were often not autism-trained.
Summarised by AI from the full paper, without a clinician reviewing it. Check it against the source before it changes what you do. Read it on PubMed →