S. Florida ABA Provider Shares Perspective on New Government Study on Autism

DEERFIELD BEACH, Fla. - Nov. 28, 2018 - PRLog -- A new government study (http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/early/2018/11/21/peds.2017-4161) finds that roughly 1 in 40 American children maintain an autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis, which is a significant increase from the previous estimate of 1 in every 59 children (CDC, 2014). The survey asked parents of more than 43,000 children between the ages of 3 and 17 if their children was diagnosed with ASD, and whether the child in question still struggled with an ASD.

While it may appear that the numbers are soaring, many experts claim the ASD prevalence rate increase is a result of making a more accurate and earlier ASD diagnosis, where some children affected by ASD can be reliably diagnosed before their first birthday. With the growing awareness of behaviors associated with ASD, many families and pediatric physicians are quickly identifying hallmarks signs of ASD (deficits in socialization and communication), according to Steve Woolf, Ph.D., BCBA-D, LABA, and President of Butterfly Effects. "Families are also able to obtain evidenced based ASD treatment for their child as early in their development as possible, resulting is in more robust treatment gains."

According to Butterfly Effects (http://www.butterflyeffects.com/), which provides therapy services to children on the Autism Spectrum and is one of the largest Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) providers in the country, the most impressive finding from the study is that nearly two-thirds (64%) of children affected with ASD received behavioral therapy in the last 12 months.

"This specific statistic suggests that ABA informed treatment is the commonly recommended and used intervention to ameliorate the ASD symptomology," said Dr. Woolf. "Parents are demanding behavior-based treatment based on the scientifically supported research and the positive outcomes they observe in their children upon receiving ABA based treatment."

He continued: "In the field of ASD treatment, parents are often bombarded by numerous alternative therapies without evidence to support their implementation. ABA is steeped in science and is truly evidence-based treatment. We are excited that families are taking the time to educate themselves about how the best possible treatment for their child."

According to Dr. Woolf, there is a nationwide shortage of ABA providers, which is something his team at Butterfly Effects is trying to fix. The team has, in fact, more than doubled its Board Certified Behavior Analysts (BCBA) staff and continue to enhance its professional and development departments. Today, there are just under 30,000 BCBAs in the United States. Dr. Woolf says that over 75k BCBAs are needed to just meet the current demand for treatment.

The findings were published online Nov. 26 in the journal Pediatrics.

About Butterfly Effects
Butterfly Effects offers Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy tailored to the individual family. Butterfly Effects was founded in 2005 to provide therapy services in South Florida to children (up to age 21) on the Autism Spectrum. Initially built on a network of individual practitioners in S. Florida, operations and access to ABA therapy eventually grew to other locations and states. Today, it is one of the largest ABA providers in the country. Learn more at www.butterflyeffects.com.