Mercer program facilitates early autism diagnosis in rural areas

Mercer University’s medical school will soon expand a program aimed at reducing the lengthy time it usually takes to diagnose children in rural areas with autism, a step that the program’s director hopes will make early intervention possible in more cases.

Children are typically diagnosed with autism when they are school-aged, which means “a big window of brain development” has already passed, according to Sherrie Williams, program director with Mercer medical school’s project management office.

But the Early Autism Detection Program helps medical providers identify autism in children as young as 16 to 30 months. Families with children who are diagnosed can then seek the necessary resources, such as audiology services, physical therapy and behavioral intervention.

“Autism is a deficit in social interaction and in language — that’s one of the characteristics,” Washington County pediatrician Dr. Jennifer Tarbutton said. “The biggest explosion of development in language occurs between 12 months and 30 months.”

The Mercer program utilizes EarliPoint Evaluation, an eye-tracking technology that assesses a child for developmental signs of autism. The university sends a trained technician to administer the test upon referral from a medical provider in a participating county. Depending on the test result, the provider makes a final diagnosis.

Launched in July, 2025, Mercer partnered with the Marcus Autism Center and the Georgia Department of Public Health to facilitate the program, which initially served Laurens, Washington and Monroe counties. It will expand to Berrien County this month.

“Speciality services, such as autism testing, are never located in our rural communities,” said Williams, a Berrien resident and licensed clinical social worker.

She noted that the diagnosis process typically takes more than a year — sometimes up to two years —  and many families seek resources in larger cities like Atlanta. 

Two different screening tools are necessary to officially diagnose a child with autism, Tarbutton said. 

Historically, one screening tool consisted of parents answering a series of questions, then waiting to see a developmental pediatrician for the second screening, she noted.   

Mercer’s early detection program bridges that gap for rural Georgia. Children are tested, on average, less than five days from initial referral. The earlier a person is diagnosed and receives intervention, the better the outcome, Williams said. Tarbutton also said she hopes the screening tool will be approved for use on older children in the future. 

Since the program’s inception, 50-60 Georgia health care providers, including Tarbutton, have received virtual training from Mercer that covers a range of topics. Participants learn about early intervention, when to make referrals and how to interpret test findings, as well as guidance for families after diagnosis.More than two dozen families have participated in Mercer’s free testing program, and though Williams said not every test results in an early autism diagnosis, other developmental challenges might be identified. Providers can then direct patients to the state public health department’s Babies Can’t Wait program, which provides early intervention resources to families with infants and toddlers with special needs.