An abundance of the literature suggests that marginalized populations in the United States tend to use healthcare services available to them less often, with many reasons given, including that they may be unaware of available services or the benefits of services, difficulty accessing services and using them, or difficulty complying with interventions. This is the case with comprehensive day habilitation services for adults with autism and intellectual developmental disabilities (IDD). Comprehensive day habilitation programs provide multidisciplinary support and assistance for the patient and family, including occupational therapy services, physical therapy services, speech services, nursing care, behavioral services, and a specialized structured environment, which can provide daily activities for socialization and developmentally appropriate games, outings, and events. Several studies suggest that occupational therapy services are underutilized in this population despite availability of funding and evidence-based research that demonstrates the effectiveness of occupational therapy services. Furthermore, occupational therapists too often continue to limit their services to clinics and hospitals and fail to see themselves as entrepreneurs despite having leadership qualities. This paper responds to the challenge by providing a business plan for occupational therapists to implement services in a culturally appropriate and customized manner to benefit the needs of a community-based habilitation program and their clients.
