Episode 46: Hover Before You Land: Building Cross-Disciplinary Standards in Autism Care with Dr. Robin McLeod from NSAP

There is no shortage of organizations in autism—we have associations, credentialing bodies, coalitions, and advocacy groups. Yet, the field remains completely fragmented. Behavior analysts talk to behavior analysts, speech therapists talk to speech therapists, and physicians talk to physicians. While clinicians protect their turf, insurance companies write policy, legislators write laws, and private equity reshapes service delivery.In this episode of Rad N Bad, Sean Yocum and Mike Carrero sit down with Dr. Robin McLeod, founding CEO of the National Society of Autism Professionals (NSAP), to address the missing element in autism care: cross-disciplinary leadership and standardized accountability.Dr. McLeod breaks down NSAP’s massive mission to unite clinical healthcare, education, policy, research, technology, and advocacy around meaningful, lifelong outcomes for autistic individuals and their families.Key Topics Covered in This Episode:The Fragmented Field: Why operating in professional silos leaves clinicians reactive to payer policies instead of driving care standards.The Two Engines of NSAP: How the Standards Engine (building a cross-disciplinary competency framework) powers the Influence Engine (advocating with payers and legislators)."Hover Before You Land": Dr. McLeod’s framework for cross-disciplinary perspective-taking and facilitating productive, respectful disagreement among experts.Compliance vs. Outcomes: Why an audit-proof treatment plan and high session attendance do not automatically equal clinically significant change.Value-Based Care & Reinforcement: How shifting away from volume-based hourly billing incentivizes true generalization, caregiver competence, and functional independence across the lifespan.If you are ready to stop performing leadership and help build an industry standard that holds providers and payers accountable, this episode is a must-listen.Learn More & Join NSAP: NSAP.org