Building A Spectrum of Opportunity

Telehealth (the virtual delivery of health services like virtual doctors visits) have been with us for many years but the COVID-19 crisis has forced the rapid adoption of these 'virtual' services almost overnight. Parents, educators and caregivers have been overwhelmed by the sudden reliance on virtual services on every aspect of our lives: our jobs, our children's education, our families access to healthcare. All of us had to suddenly become comfortable with virtual doctor visits, virtual classrooms, working virtually from home and ordering our groceries virtually! But what does this mean for the individuals diagnosed with autism and them accessing the crucial therapies they need? We will discuss what research has learned about the delivery of services (focusing on ABA services), how effective they can be, what types of individuals benefit most and least from the 'virtual' modality, lessons we've learned on how to improve efficacy as well as share insights into what parents like about remote services and how they've learned to adapt.

Presenter Bio: Adam Dreyfus, MA, LBA is the co-founder and chief science officer for AnswersNow, an innovative Richmond-based start-up that delivers ABA services via a virtual platform. AnswersNow was founded in 2016 by Adam and Jeff Beck to address a simple problem: reducing the barriers to parents in getting access to Board Certified Behavior Analysts. In working directly with over 1,000 parents of individuals diagnosed with autism and individuals diagnosed with autism themselves they are uniquely positioned to help demystify some of the questions surrounding telehealth services and ABA specifically. Adam is also the Senior Director for the Sarah Dooley Center for Autism at St. Joseph's Villa located on Richmond's northside.