This article is sponsored by EarliTec Diagnostic Inc. This article is based on an Autism Business News discussion with Jonathan Lehmann, Vice President of Sales at EarliTec Diagnostics, Hanna Rue, Chief Clinical Officer at LEARN Behavioral and Jana Sarno, Chief Clinical Officer from Hopebridge. This discussion took place on April 9th, 2025 during the Autism Investor Summit. The article below has been edited for length and clarity.

Jonathan Lehmann: Thank you all for joining. I’m Jonathan Lehmann with EarliTec Diagnostics. We’re fortunate to have Hanna Rue from LEARN Behavioral, as well as Jana Sarno, Chief Clinical Officer at Hopebridge. I’ll let them introduce themselves and share a bit about their backgrounds, and then we’ll get into the conversation.

Hanna Rue: We provide autism services across 18 states in the U.S., across the lifespan. In some regions, we also provide diagnostic services. As a licensed clinical psychologist in Massachusetts, I oversee our diagnostic clinics there. I’ve been in autism service provision for the past 25 years—it feels more like 85. I’ve been with LEARN Behavioral for the past 10 years.

Jana Sarno: I’m Jana Sarno, Chief Clinical Officer for Hopebridge. Hopebridge provides multidisciplinary services—OT, speech, ABA, and diagnostics—across 12 states. We focus on early intensive behavioral intervention to help facilitate school transitions for children. I’ve been a BCBA for over 16 years and also have a background in school psychology, so I integrate both psychology and ABA into our clinical approach at Hopebridge.

Lehmann: We’re very fortunate to have these two early adopters and passionate supporters of our EarliPoint community. What we do is grounded in scientific rigor. Our technology comes out of the Marcus Autism Center, supported by 20 years of research and over $58 million in NIH grants. There are more than 200 publications behind it, led by Dr. Ami Klin and Dr. Warren Jones.

We’ve had two articles published in JAMA supporting the science. What you see here is an attention funnel created while a child watches a socially rich video. Typically developing children look at the precursors to language and social interactions—essentially, how language is learned. We understand how children in this age group learn social interactions and language.

We play a 15-minute video comprised of one-minute clips. While the child watches, we collect 120 data points per second to construct their attention funnel. After the session, we then compare the collected data to a typically developing cohort and provide a findings report for the clinician to review with the parents/caregivers. It’s incredibly novel.

In clinical studies, we successfully generated a report 95% of the time. In real-world settings, it’s closer to 1 in 25 where we can’t—usually because the child isn’t amenable. It always surprises operators who worry the child didn’t watch enough video—yet we still process a report.

Here’s what the report looks like. We determine whether the child’s viewing behavior is consistent or not consistent with ASD, and we provide predictive indicators—our confidence in the result. We include three severity indices and plot results to the ADOS for social disability, and to the Mullen Scales for verbal and non-verbal learning.

This provides incredible insights for practitioners and is especially powerful in caregiver feedback sessions. Engagement at this early age is crucial. We’re currently indicated for children aged 16 to 30 months, with age expansion expected in 2026.

On screen, you see a snapshot: the left shows a scene viewed by typically developing children; the right shows the same scene through the gaze of the evaluated child. When used with parents, this helps explain the subtle learning opportunities their child may be missing. It’s eye-opening.

With that, I’ll turn it to the panel. Hanna and Jana, why is the first three years of life considered such a critical learning window for children with autism?

Sarno: It starts with brain plasticity—the brain’s ability to adapt and change based on interactions with the environment. Toddlers and infants interact constantly with social cues, language, problem-solving—learning that their behavior affects the world around them. Those connections in the brain that are used frequently are strengthened; those that aren’t are pruned. Early life is our chance to create dense learning opportunities that reinforce those pathways.

Rue: Absolutely. Research shows that individuals with autism respond differently to social contexts. Neurotypical children respond to caregivers, facial expressions, and eye contact. With autism, we often see avoidance of eye contact and less recognition of facial expressions. Early intervention helps strengthen neural connections by setting up contexts that motivate the child to engage socially.

Lehmann: What are the biggest challenges in getting pediatricians—or parents—to pursue autism evaluations by age three, or earlier?

Rue: It’s nuanced. Our current healthcare system has significant disparities. Families with more resources can often get into a pediatrician, but pediatricians are inundated with everyday childhood concerns—RSV, asthma, flu. They’re also under time constraints and may lack training in autism. Many don’t feel comfortable making the diagnosis, and even when they refer out, they’re often unfamiliar with what that referral pathway looks like. Some families don’t recognize communication delays or may hesitate. Others don’t have the resources to follow through.

Sarno: There was a recent University of Michigan study that interviewed over 200 pediatricians about this. Many cited discomfort in initiating the conversation and low confidence in navigating the referral process. The study’s takeaway was that we need to improve pediatrician education and simplify the diagnostic journey for families. That means smoother referrals and clearer timelines.

Rue: And we’re also facing extreme waitlists. In Boston, I know of waitlists up to three years. I have colleagues booking evaluations three and a half to four years out. And that’s for families with resources. Many simply can’t access diagnostic care.

Lehmann: At the AAP, pediatricians shared they can detect something is off early, but are hesitant to broach autism. We’re not asking them to diagnose—just to investigate further. So, how can eye-tracking technology help expand access to therapy by giving parents objective information?

Sarno: There’s been research on how parents respond to biomarkers. Both parents of children with autism and those without overwhelmingly say they’d want to know sooner. They said that information would help them pursue early intervention. There’s growing openness to objective tools and early action.

Rue: Yes. Language and cultural barriers can impact diagnostics. As a white, monolingual clinician, there are populations I simply can’t serve effectively. We do use translation services, but objective tools like eye tracking help bridge that gap. I recently worked with a Portuguese-speaking family, and having the EarliPoint tool gave us a clear diagnostic path they could act on quickly.

Lehmann: That’s what I hear too. Parents recognize that something’s off but may not understand what it means. Eye-tracking visuals can explain what’s being missed—and it’s language-agnostic. This brings us to the next question: How important is parent engagement in autism treatment, particularly in this age group?

Sarno: It’s absolutely essential. We should work with families—not do things to them. From understanding their hopes and priorities to shaping treatment goals, parent involvement is critical at every stage.

Rue: Yes, but not all families can engage equally. We work with multigenerational families, single parents, military families. You have to individualize care—meet families where they are—and build their capacity over time. Holistic treatment includes the entire family context.

Lehmann: That ties back to the diagnostic experience. When parents can clearly see and understand what’s going on, they’re more motivated to act. It leads to that critical “aha” moment. So let’s look ahead. How might biomarker-driven diagnostics reshape early screening and ABA services?

Rue: We’re getting better at identifying diverse populations and females, but there’s still a long way to go. Many children are misdiagnosed with ADHD or IDD, or not diagnosed until they reach school age. A faster, more objective diagnostic process—combined with a psychologist’s input—could change the life trajectory for so many children and families.

Sarno: Parents often have concerns between 12 to 24 months, but don’t get help until years later. The goal is to close that gap between concern and diagnosis. Good science and technology can do that—and dramatically improve outcomes.

Lehmann: Agreed. Diagnosing in this age group is complex. In our clinical studies, even expert clinicians lacked confidence 30% of the time using traditional tools. Our tech picks up on subtle patterns that humans can’t detect. It’s not about replacing clinicians—it’s about giving them better tools. Jana, how have you implemented EarliPoint?

Sarno: Early in my career, I interned at the Marcus Autism Center, where this tech was first developed—it was huge then! Years later, it’s come full circle. At Hopebridge, we integrate EarliPoint into our diagnostic clinic alongside screeners and interviews. We’ve had very positive responses from families—just having that clarity helps them move forward confidently.

Lehmann: Hanna, how about at LEARN?

Rue: We have two diagnosticians using it. In our expedited intake clinic, we screen for autism-specific referrals. The child gets comfortable playing, then spends about 12 minutes watching the video on an iPad. Parents are amazed by how simple it looks—and even when the child is active, we still capture enough data to generate a report 100% of the time in my experience. We review it alongside other tools like the Vineland. The visual distinction of gaze patterns is powerful, and it’s also helpful for ruling out autism when the results point to something else. It shortens diagnostic time and gets families into treatment faster.

Lehmann: We’re very intentional about implementation. The system doesn’t care where it’s used or who runs it—it just needs the child’s data. We train RBTs, BCBAs, medical students—anyone who can create the right environment. Reports come back in 30 minutes. Jana, how have you raised community awareness?

Sarno: We work through our physician liaison team. Even before EarliTec, we were receiving referrals in this age group, so we built on that. We equipped pediatricians with information to boost their confidence in referring. We work in very diverse communities, so ongoing education is key.

Rue: In Massachusetts, we have strong early intervention networks. We demonstrated EarliPoint to a team on Cape Cod, where there are very few diagnostic options. They were thrilled and offered us office space. This reduced transportation barriers and gave families access to care locally. We’re also collaborating with pediatricians and researchers in the greater Boston area.

Lehmann: The common theme is raising awareness and building capacity. Pediatricians and families want timely evaluations. Prioritizing that 16–30 month window is essential. There’s data showing that early treatment leads to 40% higher intellectual functioning, $1.2 million in lifetime savings per child, and a 43% higher chance of staying in general education. This is a transformational moment.

Any final questions?

Audience Member: Yes. I’ve done market research and know how hard it is to find diagnosticians. Can you speak to the cost savings of using EarliPoint? It seems like it reduces the clinician’s time and report writing, which is a big benefit.

Lehmann: Hanna?

Rue: Yes, absolutely. Our expedited clinic is a great example. Traditional reports can be 20 pages and take days. With EarliPoint, I get the report in 10 minutes and add a brief summary and recommendations. We can turn it around in 24 hours and even see multiple clients per day. It’s efficient and scalable.

Lehmann: We also provide a clinical summary of ADOS and Mullen observations that clinicians can incorporate. Jana?

Sarno: Same for us. Reports are typically ready in 24 to 48 hours. That quick turnaround helps families get started sooner. We didn’t want a diagnostic to turn into another delay—we wanted it to accelerate access to care.

Lehmann: That’s the beauty of it—standardized data across clinicians. It’s been amazing watching you both lead the way. I’m grateful to work with partners like LEARN and Hopebridge. We’re just getting started, and the future looks bright.

EarliTec is making earlier identification and treatment for autism and related vulnerabilities accessible to children everywhere. To learn more, visit: https://earlitecdx.com/.