Student Spotlight – Seth Powers

Recent data from the CDC’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network shows that the prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is 1 in 59 children. While global epidemiological studies aren’t comprehensive, a general estimate is that global ASD prevalence is approximately 1-in-100 individuals. The need for treatment for individuals with ASD extends throughout their lives, and this unmet need is a worldwide concern, especially in low- and middle- income countries where clinical infrastructure to support individuals with ASD is minimal to non-existent.

Seth Powers is interested in learning about global public health programs and interventions to help identify opportunities to leverage existing infrastructure to support the global needs of individuals with ASD, particularly in low-resource settings. A student in the Advanced Professional MPH program with a concentration in Global Health, Seth also serves as the co-director for The Center for Children with Special Needs (CCSN) which is an organization that provides clinical and consultative services supporting individuals with ASD and related neurodevelopmental disabilities across the lifespan.

Seth joined CCSN in 2016 after leaving his career in the financial services industry in an effort to provide the business and operational support necessary to help CCSN in its mission. In addition to extensive domestic work, CCSN had been engaged in international projects supporting individuals with ASD for nearly 20 years. However, resource constraints associated with high-touch clinical intervention models limit that CCSN’s reach, particularly in regions that lack existing comprehensive clinical infrastructure.

Seth recognized that a well-defined strategy informed by public health principles could be a mechanism for addressing the global needs of individuals with ASD. “There is a limit to the impact that we can collectively achieve by sending clinicians into low-resource areas to support diagnosis and treatment. We have to build capacity for care in partnership with local health and educational resources to truly achieve long-term, structural support for individuals with autism spectrum disorders,” he said.

This recognition led Seth to YSPH’s Advanced Professional program designed for students with extensive professional experience or advanced degrees. A part time student, Seth is also still working. “I’m lucky to have the opportunity to apply new skills and insights into my daily work as I learn them,” he says.

Through YSPH, Seth was connected to the Yale China Association which was interested in developing an autism program in China. As a result, Seth and his colleagues at CCSN collaborated with the Yale China Association and the Yale Child Study Center to develop a 2-year training and capacity-building pilot program with an NGO and a hospital in Changsa, China. The first on-site visit was in October. Three additional trips are planned through 2019 and supported with bi-weekly distance consulting co-led by clinicians from Yale Child Study Center and CCSN.

“It has been truly inspiring to see this project in China come together so quickly and that the early feedback has been so overwhelmingly positive from our partners in China. I am looking forward to continuing to apply what I’m learning at YSPH to support this and other projects to help to create an ecosystem of care for individuals with ASD, their families and their communities around the globe. I consider myself to be extraordinarily fortunate to have the opportunity to attend the Yale School of Public Health and learn from such intelligent and passionate professors and fellow students.”