Autism is a complex disorder and while therapists have specific training and are adept at delivering therapeutic interventions, many do not have in-depth training in autism specifically. This can sometimes create obstacles during treatment and can also create frustration for families if they don’t feel like their child is truly understood.

Children with autism are 52 times more likely to visit a doctor or therapist, yet they are often misunderstood and many have had negative experiences with healthcare providers due to a lack of understanding by the provider.

These experiences can often lead to ineffective healthcare outcomes or therapy, and potential mistrust of individuals when seeking new providers.

$268 billion is spent on autism services every year by families.

Autism is the fastest growing developmental disorder in the US, and many therapy clinics treat people all across the autism spectrum, often with varying results. Parents of individuals on the autism spectrum are consistently frustrated by the lack of understanding of how their children perceive the world differently.

Parents and Caretakers Understand Their Child’s Autism Experience

Parents and caretakers of an individual on the spectrum are going to be well aware of the perceptual differences of that person. However, depending on the ability of the individual to effectively communicate, there may still be a lot of unknowns. While caretakers are not therapists, this can cause unease on the side of the parent or caretaker if the therapist or therapy center does not specifically demonstrate they have in-depth professional training in autism, not just the therapy interventions themselves.

The Importance of Treating Every Individual Differently

This is especially true for parents or caretakers who have multiple children on the spectrum, which is not uncommon. These caretakers are forced to become very familiar with the way that each child needs to be treated differently by taking their own differences into account in order to get desired outcomes. Yet many therapists are not aware of the vast differences that can be present between different children on the spectrum and may look to treat many children with autism similarly without understanding how that could adversely impact their therapy.

1 in 44 children within the US are diagnosed with autism, making it imperative that clinics and healthcare professionals understand the disorder and how to provide care for individuals on the spectrum.

What is Autism Certification?

The goal of becoming autism certified is to ensure that those working with individuals with autism will have the knowledge, training, and expertise they need in order to provide quality care, as well as the recognition to let caretakers know they have a specific commitment and understanding to working with individuals with autism. Due to autism operating along a rather complex spectrum, each impacted individual will experience the disorder in a way that is unique to them. This makes autism certification so important because it allows professionals to effectively support individuals on the spectrum.

Autism Certificate + Certified Autism Specialist™ = Certified Autism Center™

The goals of becoming a Certified Autism Center™ are twofold:

• To ensure your staff is properly prepared to serve individuals on the autism spectrum effectively throughout the therapy process
• To communicate to parents and the community that your clinic has made this extra step so that families with individuals on the spectrum know to come to you first for therapy

There are different levels of training for different staff throughout the clinic. Many therapists start out by thinking that it is not important to have their front desk staff complete training since they are not administering therapy. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The front desk and support staff have that initial interaction that sets the tone for the whole therapy experience. It is important that those staff are able to interact with the patient in an understanding way to prevent overwhelm at these initial stages. Otherwise, the potential benefits of therapy could be counteracted before therapy even starts.

Do Staff Get Their Own Certifications?

Each staff member would go through training and certification individually, with 80 percent or more of staff getting certified overall to enable the clinic to become a Certified Autism Center™.

Support staff and staff that don’t have a master’s degree would earn an Autism Certificate (AC); therapists with a Master’s degree and at least two years experience would earn a Certified Autism Specialist (CAS)™; and once 80 percent of staff are certified, the therapy clinic becomes a Certified Autism Center (CAC)™.

Becoming a CAC is for clinics that are committed to stepping up as leaders in the field of autism. This certification recognizes clinics that have a highly trained staff and are prepared on a holistic level to provide treatment and care to those with autism.

Benefits of Autism Certification

Therapy clinics are facing the challenge of standing out in a highly competitive market. Being able to differentiate your clinic from others is key to your success, but how?

Fortunately, becoming certified is an automatic way to do this. Besides differentiation, autism certification will also help your clinic to attract new clients, increase your referral rate, and equip you with a staff that is prepared to help patients with autism so that they can achieve exceptional outcomes.

There are a number of benefits for individuals who get certification as well as benefits for the therapy center for becoming a Certified Autism Center™.