Research
Project Early Warning
Project Early Warning is a University of Central Florida feasibility study, conducted separately from PEL's free trainings, examining whether a brief telehealth interview can capture what parents observe about their child's development and organize those observations into information clinicians can use.
See if your family is eligible about 5 minutes
The problem it addresses
In Florida, children with suspected autism wait an average of 12 to 18 months for a diagnostic evaluation, and during that window families typically have no access to behavior-analytic services. The screening tools used today rely on yes-or-no checklists that were never designed to hold what caregivers actually observe day to day, so the richest behavioral information a family brings to their first appointment is largely lost. This study asks whether that information can be captured earlier and put to clinical use.
The approach
Caregivers complete one open-ended Zoom interview describing their child in their own words. A natural language processing pipeline, developed for this study and applying behavior-analytic measurement principles, organizes those descriptions into structured behavioral categories that can support clinical handoff and tailored parent resources while families remain on the waitlist.
Behavior analysis
A century of operational definition: turning everyday behavior into something precise enough to measure.
Language technology
Modern language processing at the scale of thousands of narratives, guided by that measurement framework.
Caregiver observations, systematically organized
Families' own words become structured, reviewable behavioral information, retained so that future analyses can return to the same narratives with better tools and new questions.
Study information
Feasibility of an AI-Augmented Telehealth Protocol for Early Autism Detection
University of Central Florida · IRB #8982
Principal Investigator: Joshua Levins, M.S., BCBA · Faculty Advisor: Matthew Marino, Ph.D.
- One 25 to 30 minute Zoom interview, scheduled at your convenience
- Open-ended questions about your child's communication, behavior, and daily routines
- No cost, no in-person visits, no change to your place on any waitlist
- Families receive a curated list of community resources after their interview
Accepted for presentation at the 46th Annual Conference of the Florida Association for Behavior Analysis (Orlando, 2026): “Reducing the Waitlist: A Telehealth Feasibility Study Using Caregiver Narratives to Triage Children Awaiting ASD Evaluation,” Levins, Marino, & Perez.
See if your family is eligible
The eligibility survey takes about 5 minutes and is hosted securely by the University of Central Florida.