FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
AACAP Broadens Autism Care Standards to Include Developmental Relationship-Based Interventions
Washington, D.C. The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) has released a pivotal new policy statement, “Expanding Access to Care for the Autism Community,” that broadens the recognized range of evidence-based interventions for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD).
The statement affirms that Developmental Relationship-Based Interventions (DRBI) and Naturalistic Developmental Behavioral Interventions (NDBI) are supported by research as effective approaches to improving communication, social interaction, and adaptive functioning. By urging clinicians to inform families about the full range of evidence-based options, not just Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA), AACAP signals a meaningful evolution in the field—helping shape what will increasingly be understood as the emerging standard of care for autism.
“This represents an important step forward,” said Dr. Joshua D. Feder, a Child and Family Psychiatrist who played a key role in developing the new policy. “AACAP’s leadership ensures that families can make truly informed decisions, and that providers and payors alike recognize developmental and relationship-based interventions as essential components of quality autism care.” The policy also calls for increased training of qualified professionals, expanded telehealth, and insurance coverage across the full continuum of evidence-based interventions, emphasizing flexibility and timely access over singular treatment models.
This aligns with the recommendations of award-winning autism researcher Michael Sandbank, Ph.D. who led a multi-center team in the 2020 meta-analysis of treatment outcomes: “Medical professionals caring for children with autism should inform families about the range of empirically supported intervention approaches” including behavioral, developmental, and NDBI approaches (JAMA Pediatrics Viewpoint, Sandbank et al., 2021).
The AACAP statement advances the advocacy, awareness, and outreach work of the Coalition for Developmental Approaches and will ultimately help increase access to care. Expanding the range of covered therapeutic approaches will also reduce the critical time young children now wait to receive services due to the severe shortages of behavioral health care providers.
By integrating developmental, behavioral, and relational science, AACAP’s statement reflects a more inclusive, individualized, and equitable approach to autism treatment—one that honors the diversity of pathways to growth and well-being.
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The Coalition for Developmental Approaches (formerly the DIR/Floortime Coalition of California) is a group of parents and professionals working to increase access, equity, and parent choice in autism behavioral care. The group sponsored the landmark legislation in California requiring commercial insurance coverage of all evidence-based approaches to autism care.
Learn more about the CFDA by visiting https://www.coalitionfordevelopmentalapproaches.org/. To get updates on the latest advocacy project progress, follow on Instagram, LinkedIn, or the DIR/Floortime Coalition Facebook group.
Contact:
Andrea Davis, Ph.D.
President, Coalition for Developmental Approaches
dirfloortimecoalition@gmail.com
626-795-7910
