Positive Development

“This is a cause that gets me fired up every day!” From his personal connection to our mission to the challenges we’re trying to solve for families and payers in delivering high-quality, cost-effective autism care – you don’t want to miss this The Healthcare Technology Report podcast featuring Positive Development’s Co-founder and CEO, Mike Suiters. A special thank you to the Healthcare Technology Report and podcast host RJ Lumba for the opportunity to share more about what Positive Development is all about. 🎧 To listen to their conversation: https://bit.ly/4oEt27q #DevelopmentalTherapy #DRBI #Autism #TeamPD

Today, we're celebrating another incredible milestone! 🎉 The American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP), the nation’s leading physician organization and authority on children’s mental health, has published a new policy statement expanding autism care access. This is HUGE for families, payers, and physicians! AACAP is recommending payers and physicians include a broader range of interventions, specifically Developmental Relationship-Based Interventions (DRBI), among recommended treatment options for all autistic patients. The timing of AACAP’s policy statement couldn’t be more pivotal as payers continue grappling with increasing behavioral therapy costs. Adding DRBI as a covered option helps payers: 📉 Reduce care costs by covering a therapy approach that’s less intensive ➕ Eliminate access gaps by adding more qualified providers and settings for families to choose from 🙌 Support value-based care by reimbursing outcomes instead of hours of service We’re grateful to AACAP and especially appreciate Dr. Josh Feder and all of his efforts toward helping bring about this change that will greatly impact so many lives. Find AACAP’s statement linked in the comments below and be sure to check out more of what we had to say about the news here: https://bwnews.pr/43ZUJ28 #DevelopmentalTherapy #DRBI #Autism #TeamPD

Going to BHT 2025? Join me and Emily Durfee for a fireside chat on Tuesday 11/11 at 3:15 PM as we discuss our partnership providing/covering DRBI services to autistic CareFirst BCBS members and their families in DC, Maryland, and Virginia. We'll go through some of the real data and results of our 3+ year partnership In a world of skyrocketing ABA costs, payers need value-aligned alternatives to the status quo. Providing members more cost-effective options like PD's DRBI model is an obvious solution #BHT2025

Exciting news! We will be attending the 2025 Public Health Career Expo hosted by the University of Maryland TOMORROW! 🎉 The event will be held on Wednesday, November 5th on-site from 1:00-3:00PM EDT. Current students or graduates planning to attend can RSVP via their student account on the Handshake app or simply show up to the event. Positive Development will be accepting applications as we are actively #hiring in Maryland, so don't forget to stop by and say hello! ☺️👋 #jobopportunity #healthcarejobs #autismjobs #joinourteam #marylandjobs #studentjobs #thepositiveway #teamPD

If you’ve been curious about what Positive Development is all about, our Co-founder and CEO Mike Suiters sums it up perfectly in this recent spotlight interview with Goodwin: “Our goal is to build an enduring, high-quality service that benefits families, clinicians, and payers alike and makes a real, lasting impact. That starts with the families we serve, by providing the highest quality care and support. It extends to the staff we employ, by being a great place to work where people feel valued and connected to the mission. And it also applies to the states and insurance plans that ultimately pay for our services, by ensuring every contract we negotiate is equitable and reflects our commitment to delivering real value.” The autism care industry is ripe for change. Positive Development continues building what comes next: neurodiversity-affirming, developmental therapy rooted in relationships and connection that’s accessible and affordable for all. A special THANK YOU to Goodwin for highlighting Positive Development, and for being our trusted legal partner and advisor that cares deeply about our mission. 💜 Mike shares more about our investment in tech, how we’ve built strong relationships with payers, and where he sees autism care going over the next few years right here: https://bit.ly/3Jfdw2w

Positive Development’s Co-founder and CEO, Mike Suiters, was a panelist for a recent Behavioral Health Tech webinar focused on a very timely topic – Autism Costs Are Spiraling: Why Smarter, Faster, Evidence-Based Care Is the Only Way Forward. Insight shared by the participants covered topics ranging from the current state of autism care and challenges payers are facing to how providers are addressing current market challenges, advice they’d give to payers who are after better outcomes, and where we go from here as an industry. Spoiler: This webinar could’ve been 2 hours long and we would’ve still been glued to our computer! A big thank you to Solome Tibebu for hosting and moderating this very informative discussion. Keep reading for just a sample of the key points Mike made as related to some of the topic areas that were discussed: Current state of autism care 📍 “The massive increase in prevalence has created a huge access challenge for everyone; we still feel like there’s more demand for services than there are high quality providers.” 📍 “We need options of care that fit a child’s needs and match the diversity of autism.” 📍 “Costs are skyrocketing because of the increase in prevalence and because of the 20-40hr/week programs that aren’t sustainable for families or payers.” How providers are addressing current challenges 🙌 “Providing therapy options to members is a win-win for payers; it’s another tool in the toolbox to satisfy access and increasing cost challenges AND families are looking for lower intensity therapy that best fits the individual needs of their child.” 🙌 “Developmental therapy focuses on the parent/child relationship and uses social relationships as the foundation for limitless learning and problem solving.” 🙌 “It’s inevitable that neurodivergent youth will run into challenges as they get older, but if they’ve built a strong foundation of relationships, they can lean on these to get whatever help they might need.” Where we go from here 💡 “What hit home for me is how are we including autistic voices and their lived experience in all of this? I feel called to support an option of care that aligns with their perspective of neurodivergent needs.” If you’re looking to restore your faith in the autism care market, this webinar is it! Tap the link to access it on-demand. https://lnkd.in/gBTMy-mj #Autism #DevelopmentalTherapy #TeamPD Frank Webster Rachel Kotok Goldberg Robin Ann McIntosh

📣 BIG NEWS! 📣 Anthem families across Virginia can choose our developmental therapy to meet their unique needs. It's our mission to make sure developmental therapy is accessible to every autistic child and their family, and this agreement with Anthem gets us one step closer to that ultimate end goal. Learn more about this latest partnership and the momentum building behind developmental therapy for the autism community. https://bwnews.pr/4o6auwf #NeurodiversityAffirmingCare #Autism #TeamPD

We are excited to announce we will be attending career fairs hosted by UCLA and California State University, Northridge later this month! ➡️ For students planning to attend, you can RSVP using your student account on the Handshake App or simply show up the day of the event. We are actively #hiring and will be accepting applications on-site from bachelor's graduates and current master's students. Stop on by our table and say hello! 👋 #TeamPD #UniversityRecruiting #CampusCareers #HealthcareJobs #AutismJobs #ThePositiveWay #LosAngelesJobs

Rate cuts and utilization management are band-aid solutions to the continuous rise of behavioral health costs that states and payers are facing when it comes to autism care. Our Co-founder and CEO, Mike Suiters, thinks there's a much better and more long-term solution that's simple: "Lean into choice." By providing another affordable and covered option, states and payers could cut costs significantly while also satisfying the demand for developmental services from families who want access to another autism care intervention. Mike shares how we get there in this not-to-miss interview with Health Tech Nerds. https://bit.ly/3KlALrI #Autism #DevelopmentalTherapy #TeamPD

The real issue we should be talking about right now when it comes to autism is the need for MORE therapy options covered by insurance. This Health Tech Nerds Q&A with our CEO Mike Suiters digs into where we are today with the seemingly out-of-control therapy costs and why offering more choices benefits everyone involved: payers, providers, and most importantly - families. Grab your coffee and settle in to read this thought-provoking and informative discussion between Mike and Martin Cech and Kevin O'Leary from HTN. https://bit.ly/3KlALrI #Autism #DevelopmentalTherapy #TeamPD