First Meeting of the Autism New Jersey Healthcare Consortium

Last week, Autism New Jersey hosted the inaugural meeting of our Healthcare Consortium, New Jersey’s first statewide interdisciplinary group of leaders focused on the health and healthcare needs of autistic individuals.

“This consortium is the result of over a year of research and relationship building through the Advancing Healthcare Initiative and the beginning of a new and exciting chapter of work in this area,” said Lauren Frederick, Director of Clinical Initiatives and leader of the Advancing Healthcare Initiative for Autism New Jersey.

Consortium members (see below) came together the morning of July 13th to network and share their experiences in promoting autism-friendly practices in healthcare settings. The expertise and dedication of these healthcare and autism service provider leaders was on full display as they discussed the mission and vision of the consortium as well as early priorities for action.

While this group includes only professionals, the lived experiences and voices of autistic individuals and family members remain essential. Autism New Jersey shared the current results of the ongoing Healthcare Experiences Survey.

One particularly telling data point is how individuals and families rated their healthcare experiences. When asked if they would consider their healthcare interactions positive and successful on a scale of 1 to 10, the average response was only 4. This and other findings show that there is much work to be done to improve the healthcare experience for individuals with autism.

We are grateful to the individuals and families who completed the survey as their perspectives will help guide the consortium’s priorities and activities, which is work this group of healthcare and autism service providers is energized to lead.

The Autism New Jersey Healthcare Consortium will continue to meet bi-monthly and elevate efforts at healthcare settings around the state.