News

A spotlight on all things Catalight 

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The Power of Parent-Mediated

Today, more families face the challenges of seeking support and care for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as diagnoses increase and the shortage of qualified applied behavioral analysis (ABA) paraprofessionals continues. Finding treatment in itself can present hurdles. Finding the right type of treatment—one that works for the child and caregivers—adds another layer of complexity. Practitioner-Led …

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Awareness For All

Every parent worries about their children. How will they do in school, how do I keep them healthy, how do I help ensure they have a better life? Today, 1 in 36 families will discover they also must learn about how autism spectrum disorder (ASD) will affect their child’s life. And of that group, between …

Press release |

Study Suggests Parents Benefit When They Lead Care for Autistic Children

Families raising a child with autism often face significant challenges in ensuring their child receives proper care. Recent research shows a common treatment for autistic children may offer added benefits when led by parents, rather than paraprofessionals. Parents who lead the treatment see increased confidence in their parenting ability according to a study of 152 families with …

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Catalight on the World Stage

For the first time since 2019, the world’s premier autism research conference was back in person, this year in Stockholm, and I attended with my colleagues Dr. Linsey Sneed and our CEO Susan Armiger. We were reminded of how important it is – both for us as researchers and clinicians and for Catalight as a …

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One Size Doesn’t Fit All

A diverse array of needs requires new thinking and new treatment options to better support people with developmental disabilities. Given the expanding autism spectrum disorder (ASD) diagnosis and the introduction of parity laws to better support people with intellectual or developmental disabilities (I/DDs), we are seeing a wide range of needs and an opportunity to …

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Paraprofessional-Mediated ABA: Do Hours Matter Anyway?

Applied behavior analysis (ABA) is an evidence-based intervention for young children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). With the rates of ASD continuing to rise (Maenner et al., 2023) and all 50 states requiring behavioral health treatment for people with ASD (Straub et al., 2022) the demand for evidence-based intervention options for families continues to rise, …

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Does My Young Child Need ABA Every Day?

Applied behavior analysis or ABA is an intensive behavioral treatment for autism and related developmental disabilities. ABA has been shown to improve the communication and social skills of young children and decrease challenging behaviors. The fact that ABA is considered intensive is often interpreted as meaning very high ABA  hours or daily ABA. If you …

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