Fortune Publishes Lopez’s Op-ed

A Fortune op-ed by Alexander Lopez, J.D., OT/L, associate professor of occupational therapy, advocates for K-12 schools to be required to have occupational therapists or other autism specialists on staff to support students and provide proper intervention. Lopez notes that while awareness of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased, and the number of children diagnosed has risen dramatically, U.S. school systems have not implemented new strategies to help students with ASD. In addition, some school practices may marginalize them.

“This is where policymakers must step in. We need changes at the state and federal levels to ensure that appropriate ASD intervention continues beyond preschool. K-12 schools should be required to have occupational therapists or other autism specialists on staff,” he writes.

Additional media outlets that ran the op-ed include Yahoo Finance, AOL.com, and MSN.com.