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May 13, 2026
For years, families across Illinois faced a painful reality: If they suspected their young child was autistic, they might have to wait months or even years for an official diagnosis. That delay often meant missing a critical window for early intervention and therapy. Now, a new Illinois law, prompted by research led by Northwestern University’s Megan Roberts, significantly expands who can legally deliver autism diagnoses in Illinois.
On July 10, Gov. JB Pritzker signed House Bill 5225 into law. It allows speech-language pathologists (SLPs) trained in autism diagnosis evaluation methods to diagnose the condition in children under age three enrolled in the state’s Early Intervention (EI) program. Until now, that diagnosis has traditionally been limited to physicians and licensed clinical psychologists, creating a waiting list of families seeking critical information needed to determine treatment.
The new law, the first of its kind in the U.S., allows for an additional diagnostic pathway — an early intervention pathway to support the existing and congested medical diagnostic pathway.
Roberts, professor in the Roxelyn and Richard Pepper Department of Communication Sciences and Disorders, led the research. She said the change is going to help many families get the help they need earlier.
“The current system was failing children,” Roberts said. “Decades of research had not reduced the average age of diagnosis, telling us we really need a drastic paradigm shift to move the needle.”
Last year, Roberts and her team wrapped up a four-year study called “Reduce the Wait.” In this study, rather than working within the current system, they investigated a way to expand the current autism diagnostic system. Specifically, they investigated whether trained speech-language pathologists and developmental therapists, already working with young children in early intervention programs, are as effective in diagnosing autism as experts.
In Illinois, the number of SLPs far exceeds the number of specialized clinicians who are qualified and authorized to diagnose autism. That often creates a backlog of cases and leaves many families waiting up to two years to receive a diagnosis.
“The consequences of those delays are profound,” Robers said. “Interventions delivered in the first years of life can significantly improve developmental outcomes. But without a diagnosis, many children cannot access those services.”
The Reduce the Wait study found the autism diagnosis from trained SLPs and traditional physicians were the same in 93% of cases. For Roberts, the research results also offered a solution to dramatically reduce wait times for families. For this solution to be actualized, however, the Illinois law needed to change.
Enter Start Early, a national nonprofit that promotes early childhood development and advocacy. Knowing the work they do to advocate for the state’s Early Intervention system, Roberts met with Jonathan Doster, director of legislative affairs, Illinois Policy for Start Early, to explain the results of the study and to ask how they could get the results into the hands of lawmakers.
“It’s rare to find a well-researched, cost-effective solution to a policy problem that seems intractable, yet that’s exactly what Meg and her team proposed,” Doster said.
A critical step in the process was to find a sponsor of the bill. Doster immediately identified state Rep. Natalie Manley (D-Joliet), a seasoned legislator who experienced firsthand the impact of long-wait times for autism evaluations, as her grandson had been among those forced to endure a long delay before receiving an autism diagnosis. State Sen. Meg Loughran Cappel (D-Shorewood), another champion for autistic children and families and former special education teacher, sponsored the bill in the Senate.
House Bill 5225, now Public Act 104-561, was approved unanimously by the Illinois General Assembly. With Pritzker’s signature, Illinois becomes the first state in the nation to formally authorize SLPs to diagnose autism.
Roberts said she hopes other states will follow suit in passing similar bills.
“I hope this is just the beginning. Our goal is that all children in the U.S. showing characteristics of autism receive an evaluation by 3 years of age,” she said.
While the bill is now law, the implementation phase is expected to take up to 18 months. It involves rulemaking, coordination and input from families, providers and policymakers. The law is set to go into effect in Illinois Jan. 1, 2028.
