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Despite the clear efficacy and appeal of naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions for families of young children, they are often difficult for families to access due to the limited availability of trained service providers. In recent years, telehealth has emerged as an effective tool for overcoming issues related to access, especially in rural and underserved communities. However, while telehealth offers a strategy to connect with families, it does not address the limited availability of trained providers. In this article, we provide an overview of a statewide model developed to increase access to naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions for families while building the capacity of early intervention providers. Through this model, expert consultants connect to caregivers and providers via telehealth to provide information and coaching over a limited series of visits. Collectively, child, caregiver, and provider outcomes support the effectiveness, acceptability, and feasibility of this model while demonstrating that services can be provided successfully to diverse participants. Many families seek access to evidence-based therapy to support their child's learning. Naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention is a set of practices that use a child's natural motivation and interest to teach skills in everyday routines. Many families find naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions appealing and they have been proven to be effective. However, families may not be able to enroll in naturalistic developmental behavioral intervention–based programs due to the limited availability of trained service providers. Telehealth is the use of technology to engage with care providers, including doctors and therapists. Telehealth is an effective tool for improving access to services, especially for people in rural and underserved communities. Telehealth offers a way for providers to connect with families but it does not address the low numbers of trained providers. In this article, we share a statewide model developed to increase access to naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions for families while increasing training opportunities for early intervention providers. Through this model, expert consultants worked with caregivers and providers via telehealth for a brief series of visits. During these visits, consultants taught caregivers and providers strategies based in naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions. Feedback from caregivers and providers, along with improvement in child skills, show that this model was effective and acceptable. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Promoting Happiness Ensuring students are happy is intertwined with the overall mission to teach students to be confident, independent, and empowered, yet special attention to a student's happiness during periods of reinforcement may help improve progress and relationships. Research and practice in applied behavior analysis (ABA) have contributed to the education of students with autism and other intellectual or developmental disabilities in school settings across a wide variety of efforts, including but not limited to, academic instruction ([4]), addressing behaviors restricting a student's environments and opportunities (e.g., aggression; [12]), and schoolwide positive behavior supports ([2]). [Extracted from the article]

The authors explain the importance of the term inclusion used in approaches to community engagement of autistic individuals. Topics discussed include the tendency of approaches to support community engagement to allow physical access for autistic individuals without supporting significant social participation, levels of community engagement, namely, tolerance, accessibility, integration and inclusion, and implication of certifying a program as inclusive for the dynamism element in inclusion.

As prevalence of autism spectrum disorder continues to increase, so too does the need for timely, accessible diagnostic consultation. The present work extends from a previous study which provided preliminary evidence for the feasibility of expert clinicians to utilize telemedicine to triage autism spectrum disorder risk in young children. However, it did not examine whether a telediagnostic model had a demonstrable impact on tertiary care center referrals and usage. We therefore examined whether the introduction of telemedicine-based diagnostic consultation for families served by a rural medical facility affected referrals overall as well as to a metropolitan tertiary care diagnostic center. Results suggest that telemedicine diagnostic consultation in partnership with a referring early intervention system may positively impact referrals for diagnostic evaluation as well as the ability of families to schedule and attend appointments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]