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Tapping Your Strengths for Autism Services Advocacy
When most people think of advocacy, they think of lobbying, lawsuits, or legislation. Legislative advocacy has significantly increased access to autism services over the years. However, if it isn’t something you’re already experienced with, it’s outside of your comfort zone. What you might...
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ECHO Autism for Mental Health Clinicians: Creating Access to Specialized Care in Local Communities
The growing population of individuals on the autism spectrum who have co-occurring mental health conditions necessitates a workforce of mental health professionals who are competent and confident in working with these individuals. Unfortunately, the current research depicts a large gap between that...
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Considerations to Accessing ABA Therapy Through Insurance
There are many services that can be beneficial for you to explore for your autistic child, including speech therapy, occupational therapy, and applied behavior analysis (ABA), and consulting with your child’s primary care physician or school team for recommendations on services is an important...
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Telehealth Service Delivery to Persons with Neurodevelopmental Disorders
In December 2019, the Cerebral Palsy Associations of New York State (CPNYS) partnered with StationMD, a for-profit physician service providing telemedicine to vulnerable populations, to participate in a five-year grant funded by the New York State Department of Health. The Statewide Care Facility...
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The Role of Mental Health Treatment for Autistic Individuals
Mental health treatment is an integral, yet often overlooked, component in the constellation of supports that surround individuals diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Common mental health supports include case management, therapeutic groups to increase social-emotional learning, and...
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Post-Pandemic Telehealth Tips for Providers Working with Autistic Children
Since the pandemic, many of us have become more comfortable with telehealth. The virtual visit evolution has helped many, including children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families, who can take advantage of the benefits that telehealth affords. For children with ASD, telehealth...
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Sensory-Friendly Tools and Resources for Autism Caregivers
As registered and licensed occupational therapists (OTR/L) in pediatric school-based settings, many of the students we support are diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD). Therefore, we have extensive experience with various developmental, motor, social, and sensory conditions, and the...
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Managing Feeding and Toileting Challenges in Children with Autism
Challenges with toilet training (e.g., frequent accidents, withholding urine or feces) and eating (e.g., food selectivity, getting sufficient nutritional intake) may have a significant impact on the child’s functioning in the home, school, community, and social events. These issues often impact...
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Autism Without Fear: An Autism School Seeks Behavioral Health…Through Humanism
Disclaimer: This past year I consulted for the League School of Greater Boston, the school that is the subject of this piece. I worked with their students on a self-advocacy curriculum, and I’ve also presented for the school on separate occasions. Seeing what they are attempting up close demanded...
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Helping Families with Disabilities Transition from Child to Adult Systems of Care
Having a child diagnosed with a lifelong disability is like planning a trip to one country, but unexpectedly arriving in a different country (read Emily Perl Kingsley’s essay Welcome to Holland). Just imagine, you have nothing packed that would make the trip easier or more comfortable, and you do...
