113 Short-term outcomes and six-month follow-up of BEAR 6 There is increased clinical and scientific interest in the potential of early interventions to alter the developmental trajectories of very young children with an elevated likelihood of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) (French & Kennedy, 2018). This surge in interest is evidenced by the expanding body of research focused on facilitating the early detection of ASD (Baranek et al., 2022; Barbaro et al., 2022; McPartland et al.,2020; Wolffet al., 2018), an emphasis on prospective studies exploring early developmental and neurocognitive trajectories in infants at elevated likelihood of ASD (Jones et al., 2019; Szatmari et al., 2016) and an increased number of randomized controlled trials (RCTs) studying both early and pre-emptive interventions (Green & Garg, 2018). However, signals from both the clinical and scientific field suggest that timely detection and access to early suitable interventions for infants and toddlers at elevated likelihood for ASD remains a complex and challenging process. Difficulties within this process are multifaceted, encompassing barriers related to the child, parent, professionals and organizations (Oosterling & Pijl, 2021; Snijder et al., 2021b). ASD is a heterogeneous disorder in terms of symptom expression and clinical severity, indicating a wide variety in how it manifests (Lombardo, Lai & Baron-Cohen, 2019). Furthermore, in (very) young children, developmental concerns can be manyfold, sometimes overlapping with typical developmental trajectories or appearing temporarily, making it challenging to discern whether development is ‘delayed’ or ‘deviant’. Moreover, factors which contribute to late detection and subsequent clinical follow-up include discrepancies in views between parents and professionals regarding developmental concerns, limited knowledge of ASD symptoms in infants and toddlers amongst preventive and primary care professionals, cultural aspects, fear of stigmatizing or ‘labelling’ and limited capacity of suitable and accessible intervention options (Pinto-Martin et al., 2005; Mazurek et al., 2020; Snijder et al., 2021a). The accessibility of interventions for infants and toddlers with ASD varies immensely, even within countries and regions (Elsabbagh & Johnson, 2016). This is also the case in the Netherlands, where accessible, pre-emptive interventions for infants and toddlers at high likelihood of ASD have been largely unavailable until now. In the Netherlands, the Social COmmunication Program supported by E-health (SCOPE project) was developed with the aim of improving the quality and efficiency of accessible care, facilitate collaboration between preventive, primary and specialized mental healthcare organizations, and to raise awareness of early behavioral indicators associated with infants and toddlers at high likelihood of ASD. SCOPE comprises three main components, namely a) the development of an informative platform for both parents and professionals about ASD in very young children (www.autismejongekind.nl, available in Dutch, English, Turkish and Arabic); b) provision of a free e-learning platform for preventive care professionals to enhance their ability to recognize early signs of ASD; and c) the development of a new pre-
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