As autism care continues to evolve, one of the greatest challenges has been moving beyond a one-size-fits-all approach. Emotional wellness and overall wellbeing are deeply personal, varying from individual to individual, and any effective treatment must reflect this truth. Catalight Classroom is leading the way in making this a reality by providing clinicians with education – not just training – on a variety of innovative treatment modalities tailored to diverse client needs.
Catalight Classroom throws away the cookie-cutter mold and educates clinicians to personalize evidence-based treatments. The result has been better care, greater wellbeing, and improved outcomes for clients and families alike.
Offered through Catalight, one of the largest non-profit behavioral health networks in the United States, known for its flexible, efficient, and wellbeing-driven treatments, Catalight Classroom provides web-based learning for any clinician seeking new treatment options to expand their practice and meet the needs of their clients. The courses enable them to deliver more impactful, evidence-driven intervention, thereby enhancing client outcomes by promoting personalized care.
Too often in behavioral health, providers are given rigid guidelines to follow that don’t improve wellbeing. Human lives don’t follow a script. Real care happens on a personal basis – where critical thinking and options are essential. Catalight Classroom embraces this complexity by offering education that goes beyond simple training. Instead of rigidity and cookie-cutter approaches, Catalight equips clinicians with skills to adapt treatment strategies in ways that align with each client’s values, background, level of need, and personal goals.
Catalight Classroom courses such as Compass-Behavioral, RUBI, and Calibrate provide targeted strategies for particular populations, ensuring that individuals receive care that truly fits their needs rather than being pushed into a standardized mold.
Designed to promote self-determination and wellbeing, Compass-Behavioral is an applied behavioral analysis-based coaching program where behavioral health experts focus on development areas, like executive functioning, social relationships, and emotional regulation, that are important to teen and adult clients. RUBI is a parent-mediated program in which practitioners teach caregivers tailored ABA-based behavioral strategies that focus on what’s driving behavior. Calibrate is a parent-mediated approach concentrated on dangerous behavior reduction.
Certificate courses are 8-12 hours in total. Continued education courses – 2 to 4-hour specialized programs focus on postgraduate-level concepts – and webinars are also available through Catalight Classroom. Two social skills group courses launch this month as well as a “Foundations of Neurodiversity” course on how to work with someone who is autistic or neurodiverse.
At Catalight, wellbeing isn’t just a buzzword – it’s the ultimate measure of success. Wellbeing means something different for every person and every family. For some, it may be gaining greater independence. For others, it can mean strengthening family relationships or developing self-confidence in social settings. By focusing on what truly matters to each client, Catalight Classroom ensures that clinicians can guide individuals toward meaningful progress in their lives.
Catalight’s signature wellbeing scales, used as measurement tools during treatment, are included in the courses. The scales allow clinicians to track the emotional and functional growth of clients and their families in a way that goes beyond symptom reduction. Instead, they capture the full picture of an individual’s progress: Is the client engaging in the activities they care about? Are they making strides toward their personal goals? Are they feeling more fulfilled? These are the questions that truly define success in care.
The ripple effects of this approach extend beyond clients. When clinicians have the tools to provide truly individualized care, their own professional satisfaction and emotional wellbeing improve. There is nothing more fulfilling than seeing clients flourish after implementing thoughtful and adaptable strategies. This, in turn, enhances the clinician’s engagement and passion for their work, creating a positive feedback loop that benefits everyone involved.
With an industry-wide shortage of well-trained practitioners, the ultimate goal of Catalight Classroom is to improve access to care for those who need it by reducing wait times and increasing flexibility with telehealth and less intrusive treatment. Focusing on programs taught in Catalight Classroom enables clinicians to serve more clients efficiently and meet diverse needs. Catalight’s treatment options are particularly beneficial for private practice clinicians and organizations seeking advanced, convenient treatment options that allow them to care for more clients.
With more than 900 students and growing, Catalight Classroom is democratizing access to high-quality education for clinicians around the world, thereby ensuring that more individuals receive the personalized care they deserve. The ongoing development of new courses continues to broaden the scope of what’s possible in autism care.
By emphasizing education over training, Classroom’s goal is to create pragmatic solutions geared toward wellbeing as the ultimate goal. The impact is clear: clinicians are empowered to help clients down a path to greater emotional wellness, and families are seeing real, lasting improvements in their loved ones’ lives.
At the heart of it all are the simple, yet profound, truths that, when it comes to intellectual and developmental disability care, one size does not fit all, and every individual deserves to be treated individually.
For more information on Catalight Classroom, visit the platform here.
Brianna Fitchett, MPH, MA, BCBA, is the Vice President of Clinical Impact at Catalight, a nonprofit that provides access to innovative, individualized care services, clinical research, and advocacy so people with developmental disabilities can choose their path to care. Fitchett leads Catalight Classroom for the organization and is also an instructor.
