Read insightful and timely articles by Dr. Ronit Molko on a wide range of behavioral health topics.
March 10
MYTH: Nonverbal or Nonspeaking People with Autism are Intellectually Disabled
RONIT MOLKO, PH.D., BCBA-DSTRATEGIC ADVISOR, LEARN BEHAVIORAL Just because someone is nonspeaking, does not mean they’re non-thinking. Around 25 to 30 percent of children with autism spectrum disorder are minimally verbal or do not speak at all. These individuals are referred to as nonverbal or nonspeaking, but even the term nonverbal is a bit of …
November 10
Autism, Behavioral Health, Business, Executive Consulting, Investment, Mental Health, Mergers and Acquisitions, Senior Care
Value-Based Healthcare
A patient desperate for pain relief opts for spinal fusion surgery, a procedure that typically costs between $80,000 and $150,000. Spinal fusion can offer benefits to healthcare patients but it has a woeful success rate often tabbed at 50%. We know that three of every seven patients who undergo the operation require further surgical intervention …
October 8
This AI Tool For Diagnosing Autism Could Hit The Market ‘In The Second Half Of 2021’
A tool that helps pediatricians diagnose autism with artificial intelligence and smartphone video passed a key FDA test and could hit the market as soon as next summer, according to device-maker Cognoa, which recently announced its plans to submit the tool for final approval. In a trial to measure its safety and effectiveness, doctors diagnosing …
August 6
Technology, Personalized Medicine, And Autism
Imagine walking into your doctor’s office and being greeted not by people who invite you to wait, but by a scanner ready to gather information about your heart, kidney, lung and liver function. Scanning your body for a near-complete diagnostic work-up, the scanner forwards your results to a giant screen in the exam room where …
July 30
Healthcare Services Present and Future
Covid-19 is understandably viewed as a crisis in the U.S., with a death toll topping 100,000 amid an economic shutdown that catapulted the nation into an instant recession. Nearly every sector of the economy has been broadsided by its effects. Rippling beneath the surface have been pockets of technological advance and investment opportunities, perhaps nowhere …
June 30
How Race and Ethnicity Affect Diagnosis, Treatment and Support for Autistic Children and Adults
Recent events have magnified inequities in our society along racial and ethnic lines generally and particularly in areas such as education, as instruction has moved online and become more parent-dependent. As one example, a 2019 study found that one-third of black households lack home broadband service and fewer than half own a computer. This disparity …
April 30
A Different Kind of Autism Awareness Month
April is Autism Awareness Month, but unfortunately we will not see a Walk for Autism, Autism 5K, cookie fundraisers or Awareness Day celebrations during this extraordinary and unprecedented time.That doesn’t obviate the need or desire to increase awareness and understanding of autism throughout our country – and the world. It just requires some creativity to …
April 30
Helpful Tips for Your Child’s Routine Change
By: Ronit Molko, Ph.D., BCBA-D and Sally Burke, M.S. Ed., BCBA The sudden disruption in routine due to COVID-19 is challenging for all individuals to manage as we adjust to a new, and hopefully short-lived, normal of staying at home and ceasing most of our regular activities. For families of individuals with autism and other …
March 31
What Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury Can Teach Us About Autism
Nearly three million Americans suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI) each year, one quarter of them children. Most of these are mild, resulting in concussion, but 50,000 deaths result from TBI annually. At the same time, one in 59 children is diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder each year. Three and a half million Americans live …
September 30
The Sexual Abuse Epidemic Among People with Intellectual Disabilities
In the era of #MeToo and increasing vigilance against sexual predation, there is burgeoning evidence that a significant cohort of people has been lost in the shadows.Although the exact extent of the problem is unknown, numerous studies have concluded that individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and other physical, intellectual and developmental disabilities are at …
August 30
Disappearing Into Normality: Understanding Autism on Its Own Terms
The popular paradigm to describe individuals on the autism spectrum is linear: we conceive of individuals as mildly, moderately, or severely impacted by autism. These categorizations are also used diagnostically to determine how a person’s life and functioning is affected by their autism. Put another way, autistic individuals are referred to as needing lower-support or …
June 25
Areas of Advancement in Autism Services for Successful Adults
As autism prevalence increases and more children on the spectrum mature to adulthood, the need for services that help autistic adults lead independent and fulfilling lives is becoming an increasingly urgent concern. While many interventions help autistic kids and their families navigate the challenges of childhood and adolescence, there has been comparatively little progress made …