Expediting Access to Services for Equity

The goal of this clinical trial is to assess whether telehealth-based Family Navigation (FN) expedites enrollment (e.g., reduces time in days) in community-based autism intervention for Black toddlers under the age of 4 after their initial diagnosis of autism. The main questions it aims to answer are: Does Family Navigation decrease the time to initiation of intervention for Black toddlers with autism? Does Family Navigation improve developmental outcomes at 18 months post-diagnosis of autism? Does Family Navigation improve caregiver well-being? Caregivers in the Family Navigation condition will receive 4 research-based individual sessions with a trained navigator to support them in identifying and enrolling in recommended autism early intervention services. All navigation sessions will be delivered virtually via phone/Zoom. Researchers will compare participants who receive family navigation to participants who receive the standard of care (educational materials) to see if family navigation outperforms the standard of care.

Inclusion Criteria: * Children up to 48 months who have a new diagnosis of autism, or who are waiting for a diagnosis of autism AND their caregiver. * Live in Georgia or North Carolina * Caregiver must be over the age of 18 * Their child with autism must identify as Black/African-American * Speak conversationally fluent English. Exclusion Criteria: * No access to a telephone or internet connection for phone calls or video conferencing. * Diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder is ruled out in the child.