Team Approach Helps Children with Autism Succeed

By Deborah Jeanne Sergeant

As with medical care in complex cases, the team approach can provide many benefits for a family with a child on the autism spectrum because so many experts may be involved with helping them reach their potential.

Instead of siloed providers offering their expertise, the team approach brings providers together in a coordinated effort.

“Teamwork is a big part of our mission, to work towards our strengths and make sure our participants and families have a positive experience while in our presence” said Maria DiMartin, virtual program and marketing assistant and former program coordinator at AutismUp in Rochester. “It’s really important because it gets everyone on the same page and all the service providers can see things from their perspective to provide the best support for families. Taking into consideration so we can make our judgement calls it’s always super helpful.”

The team approach can also help families discover what meets their needs. At AutismUp, family navigators help connect families find resources and support within the community.

“We also have a director for education and support,” DiMartin said. “If a local community person or group wants to learn about autism a business is looking to hire people with diagnoses, she can open the eyes to the benefits that people with autism can bring.”

Collaboration among experts is also a big part of the team approach.

DiMartin said that at AutismUp, the various experts maintain commu- nication so that they can see more aspects of participants’ lives and better understand how to meet their needs. This awareness and involvement can last for years.

“We see many participants grow up and we’ve become part of their lives,” DiMartin said. “We hear from their families that they’re starting new therapy or are working with a new group in the community.”

Providing more opportunities in the community benefits people with autism and the team approach can help prepare them for things like volunteering, employment and life skills. AutismUp’s Full Life Academy, part of the Center for Community Transitions, offers changes to learn life skills.

“We work together as a team between AutismUp staff and other community providers and anyone who wants to work with families and participants,” DiMartin said.

The team approach focuses on matching the needs of the program participants and families and what resources could best meet those needs. It’s a far different approach from that of the past.

“We’ve come a long way across the board as we used to talk about diagnoses and symptoms and treating them,” said Nicole DeRosa, PsyD, chief clinical officer with the Kelberman Center in Syracuse. “Just because someone has autism doesn’t mean they need some type of treatment. It’s more if it’s interfering with quality of life or their goals. Who’s it problematic for, me, because I’m uncomfortable, or that person because they want to be happy and it keeps them from achieving their goals? With the team approach, you have multiple people, services and providers coming together in an integrative and collaboration in a fashion to meet the needs of the individual. It’s a more complete approach. They get support from various areas of expertise, not just one.”

One example she offered is that a participant may manifest a behavior that interferes with their goals because of an underlying problem like a sinus infection.

“That can be treated to address those behaviors,” DeRosa said. “The team approach helps us identify the simple thing that may be going on and then we can take the simplest approach.”

She added that having one point of contact such as a case manager can also help keep communication moving among providers and among family members and providers. Otherwise, important information can be muddled or dropped.

“You can have multiple people working for a family but there must be communication to really benefit the individual,” DeRosa said. “It may not be easy if you have people at multiple sites. It can be a challenge. But if you have one person managing that it’s helpful. It’s not the family’s or individual’s responsibility to share information with other providers. I think we should explain issues to others like schoolteachers or others. We should effectively communicate issues to others.”