1x1 With Mike Suiters At Positive Development

For Mike Suiters, building Positive Development has always been about taking the long view — creating a sustainable, high-quality model of autism care that serves families, clinicians, and payers alike. By combining evidence-based developmental therapy with technology and empathy, the company helps reshape how autism care is delivered in the US.

Positive Development blends healthcare, technology, and advocacy in its approach to autism therapy. How do you balance those pieces, and what makes your model different from traditional methods like applied behavior analysis (ABA)?

Our model is built around developmental, relationship-based care. We focus on the foundations of a child's growth, such as sensory processing, emotional regulation, and relationship building, rather than concentrating solely on modifying behaviors, which is often the emphasis in traditional ABA therapy. When you strengthen those developmental capacities, the behaviors tend to follow naturally.