System and cost research issues in treatments for people with autistic disorders

Parents of children with autism and pervasive developmental disorder and ed ucational and clinical practitioners providing services to them regularly c onfront a wide range of service selection and financial decisions that are not as yet effectively addressed by applied research. Relevant systems issu es span a very broad range of concerns: (a) systems delivery models and iss ues (e.g., costs of services, implementation of intensive intervention, and teacher or therapist training), (b) how best to integrate treatments; (c) providing treatment to those with limited monetary resources: (d) cost and cost/benefit analyses; (e) how to educate adult psychiatrists (as well as o ther practitioners and personnel) regarding autism: and (f) gaps between re search and practice.