As you probably know from the topics of our current grants, the READi Lab is a strong proponent of conducting universal autism-specific screening for children at 18 and 24 months. The word “universal” is used to denote the process of screening ALL children at a specific age, in contrast to “selective” screening, in which only a subset of children receive the screening. Research has shown that selective screening fails to identify many children at autism risk, especially those in minority groups. Recently, Slate published an article discussing the benefits of early screening, which include earlier access to specialized intervention and lowering the age of diagnosis of children from minority groups, who are diagnosed much later than white children. Universal autism screening would help providers better identify all children at risk, regardless of race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status, and connect children and families to needed services at younger ages. The article, which can be accessed here, describes other structural inequalities that families may face when accessing autism-specific services, and the ways community organizations are attempting to overcome these disparities.