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Why I advocate for Direct Support Professionals… by Kit Peterson, a grandmother of a young man on the autism spectrum. She is an advocate for fair pay for the direct support professionals who have become family to people like her grandson. Despite how difficult it was to accept our … are impacted: it begins right in Albany, but can reach far beyond New York State. We must raise our voices on behalf of a group who often cannot speak for themselves; they are our grandchildren. They need direct support professionals who can …

Clinician Guide: Program Development and Best Practices for Treating Severe Behaviors in Autism … of life for autistic people and their families.  To improve systems of care for this population, Autism Speaks convened a group of multi-disciplinary experts to develop the Clinician Guide: Program Development and Best Practices for Treating … The goal of this guide is to help providers:  Expand their understanding of intense challenging behaviors in autism  Support individuals experiencing significant behavior challenges who may harm themselves or those around them  Develop …

The Autism Care Network works to expand access to autism diagnosis in Canada… becoming increasingly difficult to keep up with the need for autism assessment. We’re fortunate to work with a wonderful group of community pediatricians who are engaged with lots of autistic kids, so we saw an opportunity for them to take on an advanced practice role in autism diagnosis. We began to work on developing the optimal training approach to support this group and came up with a three-step educational process. We’ve done the training three times now and we’re … child communicates, expresses themselves and plays. We also shared information about community resources, how the different supports and services are funded, and how families navigate services. The second phase was mentored assessments in the …

Autism Speaks funds ECHO Autism Primary Care to bring better autism screening and care to your doctor’s office… the child’s behavior, learning and relationships. Each clinic features one individual provider who presents a case to the group, and everyone participating in the clinic gets the benefit of learning from that real case. “It’s a lot like the learning model in medical school,” Dr. Sohl says. “A group of providers – including experts in developmental medicine, behavioral health, and social work, plus a family advocate … family.” Now, all 12 ATN centers have ECHO Autism Primary Care groups operating or planned in their local areas, most with support from Autism Speaks.   The ECHO Autism Primary Care model was originally tested at the University of Missouri, an ATN …

Things to Look For in Your Child's Team… quite complex, so it is helpful to take a broad approach when evaluating concerns, and deciding how to provide appropriate support. In order to meet their various needs, many people with autism, especially those with challenging behaviors, need a … have you worked collaboratively in the past? “I have to say, we were lucky enough from the beginning to have assembled a group of fine people who had the very best intentions of helping my son Eli. But a few months into his preschool year, after … the provider’s experience by asking at his office, or by connecting with school or agency staff, other parents, or local support groups for suggestions and recommendations. What is your experience in working with individuals with autism? This …

Assembling Your Team After a Diagnosis… It often takes a team of people to help support a person with autism. Your child’s team will consist of many different members. They will help you to address all … about your child’s treatment, education, recreation and health. Below is some helpful information on how to assemble this group of professionals. Medical team Your child should be supported by a pediatrician who understands developmental issues and who will serve as your child’s primary care provider. …

ATN@Work: Personalizing hospital care for children with autism… the lead author of an Autism Treatment Network study that helped develop a model program for tailoring in-patient care to support kids with autism At Mass General Hospital for Children, Dr. Sarabeth Broder-Fingert  discusses a patient’s … Right after that eye-opening experience, I thought there must be other hospitals that have developed ways to support children and families affected by autism when they come into the hospital. So I set out to find these programs and … would then go in the child’s hospital file for every member of their care team to see. One caveat, the clinicians in the group cautioned, was that if the document was more than, say three page, it might not get used. So we needed to create a …