News and Events

In what may be the most significant updates to mental health parity laws since the 2008 Mental Health Parity and Addiction Equity Act (MHPAEA), the federal government in July 2023 proposed a new rule defining actions health insurers must take to ensure patients have...

Modern care for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has expanded beyond the traditional "gold standard" of applied behavioral analysis (ABA) over the past few years. It's a move driven by several key factors: research demonstrating ABA is most effective with a subset of...

The thing about Kyler Sipat is he’s just like any other 20-year-old. He’s a big sports fan, loves working out and being active but sleeps in when he can. He plays video games and keeps up with the latest Taylor Swift news. He’s quick to pick up his guitar to strum a...

Halloween is a fun time for kids to dress up and explore their favorite interests, stories and characters. At the same time, the experience can be overwhelming for children with developmental disabilities. Scary costumes, flashing lights, loud noises and other sensory...

Care options for people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) have expanded in recent years. The expansion is driven by a variety of factors: policy focused on equal care and coverage, a deeper understanding...

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), health equity is a state in which everyone has an equal opportunity to be as healthy as possible. That includes physical as well as behavioral health. However, achieving health equity has long faced...

Did you know over seven million people in the U.S. have an intellectual disability (ID)?[1] Within in this group, about one or two percent of the individuals have what we call profound intellectual and multiple disabilities (PIMD).[2]Today, we’re going to take a...

Over the last 50 years, we’ve come a long way in protecting and advancing the rights of people with autism and other disabilities. Take a look at some of the laws that have increased their ability to access healthcare, education, employment and housing. Plus, discover...

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), autism spectrum disorder is the fastest-growing developmental disability in the U.S. It’s also one of the most talked about in the media and by families across the country. But where did the term...

Language is the primary tool we use to understand and relate to each other. Using inclusive language to refer to people in communities different from our own, reflects our respect for and understanding of that community. A few words can mean the difference between a...

Telehealth has gone through a major transformation since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. Once narrowly used, it was widely adopted during the lockdowns of 2020. Many families turned to telehealth to continue essential care for autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and...

If you’re interested in making a significant impact on the wellbeing of others, a career focused on supporting people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) or intellectual developmental disabilities (IDDs) may be the perfect fit for you. While certain skills and...

With today’s behavioral health care staffing shortages and increasing prevalence of developmental disabilities and autism, it's a major challenge to create enough capacity to be able to serve these communities. But payers’ network adequacy is a key factor affecting...

The shortage of clinicians who specialize in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) has been in the making for years, as ASD continues to increase in prevalence. The CDC recently reported, based on 2020 data, that the...

Staffing pressures have led to unprecedented financial challenges for behavioral health care provider organizations. Shortages of workers, coupled with wage inflation and stagnant reimbursement rates, are driving up costs in a landscape with more need than ever as...

As a skilled paraprofessional, you play a key role in implementing the treatment plan for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families. Helping them improve their overall wellbeing and achieve their goals is a rewarding part of your day-to-day job,...

Catalight is pleased to be a part of this year’s annual convention of the American Psychological Association (APA). The team will join the largest gathering of psychologists in the world, with thousands of practitioners, researchers, educators, applied psychologists,...

A search for “behavioral health” in The New York Times and The Washington Post turned up 3,163 results in the past year, and searches for “substance use,” “opioids” and “opioid crisis” similarly turned up thousands of results. A search for “autism?” Just 213 search...

Historically, measuring outcomes in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) focused specific behaviors. More than a dozen scales and measures exist to gauge these outward behaviors: examples include the Aberrant Behavior Checklist (ABC), the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS)...

Summer is a season of change. The established routines of the school year have come to an end and new patterns take their place. For many families, summer vacations are the ultimate change in their routine. If you have a child with autism, this can be both an...

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....

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...

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...

The prevalence of intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) is on the rise1 and so is our interest in using technology as a way to improve the quality of life of people with IDD. Today approximately 6.5 million people in the United States have an intellectual...

WALNUT CREEK, CA – Catalight, the nonprofit behavioral health care services provider and network manager, today announced that its researchers will be making two presentations at the International Society for Autism Research (INSAR 2023), to be held in Stockholm from...

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...

test While more than half of all overall healthcare payments today are still based on fee-for-service1, the trend toward value-based care (VBC) has accelerated in recent years as legislators and the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have enacted...

The COVID-19 pandemic brought significant challenges and opportunities for psychologists conducting diagnostic evaluations for people with suspected autism spectrum disorder (ASD). While there had been research on telediagnostics for ASD, at the start of the pandemic...

For clients with developmental disabilities and their families, it can be challenging to find the right level of care and support—especially with today’s current practices. Often, they are faced with a disjointed care journey and inconsistent outcomes. Traditional...

Six years ago, after working for a large healthcare organization for 20 years, I made the decision to leave and join Catalight and I have never looked back. Catalight, a non- profit, supports individuals with developmental disabilities including autism by removing...

If you are looking for employment and following these articles, they could help you gain traction in finding a job. Since we started this series, I have assisted several neurodiverse candidates in finding employment. I can tell you firsthand that people are finding...

Earlier this year, I started publishing articles about finding employment for neurodiverse adults. As we are now in the middle of National Disability Employment Awareness Month #ndeam, I wanted to remind everyone that there is a lot of work to do, even in a booming...

Have you ever worried about your child’s development? If so, you’re not alone. Parents often become alarmed when their child doesn’t learn and grow in the ways they expect. The good news is that you’re in the best position as a parent to help your child reach...

Can you believe there are twice as many job openings as people are looking for work? The Bureau of Labor Statistics announced in June 2022 that job openings totaled 10.7 million. But, of course, the 5.9 million people looking for work do not include the millions of...

Congratulations, after all your hard work, a company is reaching out with an offer to start work. You now face many decisions about salary, benefits, accommodations and work schedule – to mention a few. This article will cover how to navigate these critical decisions...

For individuals on the spectrum, finding meaningful employment is getting more accessible thanks to the support of more than 40 neurodiverse-friendly employment service companies. These organizations are entrepreneurial and laser-focused on bringing together job...

There is a lot of great news for neurodivergent candidates looking for work. First, the Labor Department released the February 2022 employment numbers showing there are 11.3 million job openings in the U.S. If you are looking for one of those jobs, know that your...

I have spent the past several years providing career coaching to neurodiverse adults in hopes of assisting them in finding that job that will propel them into a lifetime of employment. It has been one of the most rewarding and difficult challenges I have faced since...