Oral health represents one of the most significant unmet healthcare needs for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Dental visits involve a convergence of challenges that make them particularly difficult for this population: unfamiliar sensory environments including bright lights, loud equipment, and novel textures; physical intrusion into a highly sensitive body area; demands for prolonged stillness and cooperation; and interactions with unfamiliar professionals in an unfamiliar setting.
Provider: BehaviorLive — via Florida Association of Behavior Analysis
Take This Course →Including ethics, supervision, and topics like this one. New live CEU every Wednesday.
Join Free →Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) may have difficulty participating in dental care and are at risk for unmet dental needs. Barriers to oral health care include interfering behaviors and a lack of qualified providers. Ethical and effective collaboration among dental and behavioral health professionals is a potential pathway to improve oral health care outcomes for patients with ASD. The presenters in this paper session will share lessons learned providing interdisciplinary care to patients with ASD for over 10 years in a grant-funded, university dental clinic. Practical considerations for effective implementation and funding will be discussed.
| Certification Body | Credits | Type |
|---|---|---|
| BACB® | 1.5 | Ethics |
| COA | 1.5 | — |
| FL MH/PSY | 1.5 | — |
Tara Sheehan, PhD, BCBA is the Program Administrator of the masters and doctoral concentrations in Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) at Nova Southeastern University. She has worked with individuals with autism spectrum disorder and related disabilities and their families for over 20 years in home, school, community, and clinical settings. Dr. Sheehan has provided consultation and training in public schools nationally at the district, school and classroom levels regarding curriculum selection, classroom design and behavior management. She has collaborated on interdisciplinary applied research projects funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and the Health Resources and Service Administration (HRSA). She has disseminated her research findings through invited webinars, state and national presentations and peer-reviewed publications. Her research interests include training and supervision of practitioners and teachers, parent training, and variables that impact treatment durability and relapse.
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All behavior-analytic intervention is individualized. The information on this page is for educational purposes and does not constitute clinical advice. Treatment decisions should be informed by the best available published research, individualized assessment, and obtained with the informed consent of the client or their legal guardian. Behavior analysts are responsible for practicing within the boundaries of their competence and adhering to the BACB Ethics Code for Behavior Analysts.