According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics, the number of Autistic Australians grew by 25% between 2015 and 2018, and by 41% from 2018 to 2022. Currently, there are over 290,000 Autistic Australians; however, their life expectancy is 20-36 years shorter than that of the general population. (ABS, 2024)

Croen et al. (2015) report that autistic adults are at increased risk for diabetes, cancer, psychiatric conditions, and suicide attempts. Arnold et al. (2023) highlight barriers to effective healthcare, such as gender diversity, anxiety, disability, lower social support satisfaction, and a deficits-based outlook. In 2023, the Royal Australian Council of General Practitioners urged reforms to improve GPs' ability to care for autistic patients.

Providers often cite behavior as the primary obstacle to delivering quality care to autistic individuals and others with sensory and communication disabilities. Teaching individuals the skills needed to access healthcare services is crucial for their health and well-being. However, without capable, confident, and compassionate providers, these barriers will persist. We have learned a lot about trauma in the past decade, and we now have the tools to provide assent-based, trauma-informed care across disciplines.

BCBAs can assist both groups in working toward better access and experiences for people with disabilities in healthcare, ultimately leading to improved health outcomes for autistic patients. Much research has demonstrated that stimulus and demand fading without extinction can effectively increase cooperation during dental and medical procedures for people with disabilities; however, medical providers rarely use these methods to enhance access or improve health outcomes for patients. Reasons such as lack of training, knowledge, and perceived competence are often cited by medical providers when asked why they don’t accept autistic patients. It’s time for these two worlds to collaborate and make life-saving differences in people’s lives.