No one-size-fits-all approach exists when it comes to autism care. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is one of the most prevalent developmental disabilities in children, with 1 in 36 children in the U.S. having been diagnosed. Historically, applied behavior analysis (ABA) providers have worked independently from speech and language therapists and occupational therapists (OT). Still, it’s become clear that a tailored, multidisciplinary approach to autism care is the key to increasing positive outcomes in learners.
Experts in the care space for autism and intellectual and developmental disability (IDD) predict that therapy providers nationwide will continue to take a more integrated approach to therapy and develop their clinics into multidisciplinary hubs for personalized autism and IDD care that combine multiple therapeutic interventions. A study that analyzed treatment patterns in children with autism in the United States found that 80 percent of children diagnosed with autism received speech therapy or occupational therapy, while 52 percent received both. Effective collaboration across Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBAs), speech and language therapists, OTs, special educators, and other behavioral health providers can be a major determinant in increasing the positive outcomes of children with ASD. While multidisciplinary care has the potential to significantly impact learners, every care provider must be able to communicate and share outcome data efficiently to ensure that treatment delivery is as effective as possible.
Challenges in multidisciplinary care delivery
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Multidisciplinary care across the U.S. is currently on an upward trajectory. Traditional ABA providers are entering new markets to deliver multidisciplinary care, and providers of speech therapy, occupational therapy, physical therapy, or mental health are now moving into ABA therapy. Care coordination is complex due to the multiple data sources coming together, but if done effectively, it can positively impact both the learner and the professionals delivering care. With the adoption of electronic health records (EHRs) and artificial intelligence (AI), a unified approach to multidisciplinary care is possible.
Leveraging AI to enable multidisciplinary autism and IDD care
The central challenge in delivering effective multidisciplinary care is difficulty coordinating between care providers. Speech and language therapists, occupational therapists, and BCBAs often lack visibility into the other discipline’s assessments and insight into the progress and exercises conducted in each session. There is overlap between each discipline, and it is imperative that the BCBA on a learner’s care team has a centralized view of the therapeutic interventions and strategies that the speech and language therapist (or OT, or special educator) is working on with that same learner to be able to reinforce behaviors more effectively.
As more clinics embrace this multidisciplinary approach to care delivery, there will need to be an uptick in using AI-backed software to act as the traffic control between therapists. AI-based tools can streamline workflows, generate and edit session recaps, and provide more visibility into the assessment status of each learner. Autism and IDD care already requires an exorbitant amount of documentation – from summary notes to claims and assessment and treatment plans – and with more care providers becoming involved in care delivery, clinics risk creating additional administrative burdens for their providers. AI tools that allow autism and IDD care providers to streamline workflows and help clinicians craft better session summaries for payers and caregivers can ultimately lead to more time spent on patient care, allowing providers to operate at the top of their license. With the help of AI, clinicians can spend more time helping patients, caretakers, and other providers on the care team make breakthroughs in progress and improve outcomes overall.
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Rick Kubina Jr., Ph.D, BCBA-D is CentralReach’s Director of Research and Scientific Advisory Board Chair. He is also a Professor of Special Education at The Pennsylvania State University, where he teaches courses on methods for teaching reading, behavior analysis, and experimental design. Rick graduated from Youngstown State University where he had Steve Graf as an advisor, and then received a Masters and Ph.D. from The Ohio State University under John Cooper. Rick conducts wide-ranging research in Applied Behavior Analysis and Precision Teaching. He also served as the editor of the Journal of Precision Teaching and Celeration. Rick has dedicated his professional career to helping behavior change agents such as teachers, behavior analysts, and other helping professionals efficiently change behavior through effective teaching and measurement, such as Precision Teaching. Rick co-founded a software called Chartlytics, which was acquired by CentralReach in 2018. At CentralReach, Rick explores how technology can accelerate superior outcomes for all those seeking to engender professional and personal success and his ongoing research will help shape the future of CentralReach’s clinical solutions.
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