Brief Report: Pediatrician Referral Practices for Early Self-injury in Young Children with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to examine the frequency and quality of primary care physician (PCP) recommendations to investigate the management of young children with delays and self-injury (SIB; e.g., head banging) from the time of initial SIB concern to specialty referral as recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP). Via a structured electronic health record review, PCP referrals and recommendations were examined for a cohort of 250 children (10–59 months old) with delays and SIB. Only a small portion of cohort charts reviewed (8.0%) received AAP recommended intervention via referral to subspecialty providers by their PCP. Further, only 37.5% received SIB-specific care recommendations. Findings suggest that future targeted education is needed to improve primary care access to AAP recommended intervention for young children with delays and early SIB.