Springtide, a multimodal clinic for children with developmental delays, today announced the closing of its Series A equity round worth $18.1 million.

Deerfield Management Company and Optum Ventures led the round. Along with their monetary contribution, representatives from each company will join Springtide’s board of directors to provide strategic guidance and support.

WHAT IT DOES

With offices in Connecticut and New York, Springtide is a multi-site interdisciplinary practice with telehealth capabilities serving children with autism spectrum disorder and other developmental delays and disabilities.

"The need for a new approach to autism is tremendous," said Jia Jia Ye, the CEO of Springtide, in a statement. "Most families seeking care for their child with autism find the experience confusing, costly and filled with long forms and waitlists. Our vision is to support our kids and families with a 24/7 model, starting with in-center care and expanding the Springtide way through a suite of unique technology tools across all settings, ranging from the home, to school, to any organization that supports kids with autism."

It offers a variety of services including applied behavioral analysis, speech therapy, occupational therapy and physical therapy. Its technology platform offers remote video treatments, parent coaching, family scheduling and engagement tools.

When a family reaches out to Springtide, the clinic coordinates with their insurance plan to confirm eligibility and then sets up an initial Functional Behavioral Assessment with the child to match them with a compatible care plan. From there, the child begins their applied behavior analysis (ABA) therapy and any other occupational or speech interventions they need.

Parents also get daily and weekly in-depth updates from one of Springtide’s board certified behavior analysts.

WHAT IT’S FOR

The company plans to use the funds to enhance its clinical operations as it expands into new markets. Additionally, Springtide is working on commercializing its technology platform for more remote care options, as well as including data capturing, automated reporting, outcomes measurement and patient engagement functions.

MARKET SNAPSHOT

ABA is considered evidence-based best practice treatment by the U.S. Surgeon General and by the American Psychological Association for its ability to adapt to the patient’s specific needs and its focus on behaviors, according to Autism Speaks.

Autism is a fairly common developmental disability, with about one in 54 children diagnosed with ASD, according to estimates from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network.

Integrating technology into a patient’s therapy is a popular method to broaden the reach of care out of the clinic and into the home, school and other locations.

Sprout, a tech-enabled autism care and treatment program, recently launched its service on the back of $10 million in seed funding. The program combines prompt in-home assessments and ABA therapy from a live therapist with a tech platform that delivers ongoing telehealth sessions.

Another digital health company developing software tools for children with autism and other behavioral health conditions and their families is Cognoa. Its machine learning tool is designed to help primary care clinicians and pediatricians evaluate and diagnose suspected cases of autism among children, without the need for a behavioral health specialist, via uploaded videos of the child's behavior.

ON THE RECORD

"The rapidly growing autism care market is highly fragmented and uncoordinated, which creates significant challenges for children and their families who deserve to have access to care that is consistently of exceptional quality," said Dr. Julian Harris, partner at Deerfield Management Company, in a statement.

"Springtide offers an interdisciplinary, in-center care experience with a tech-enabled wraparound for families who want their children to get all of their care in one setting. With an emphasis on outcomes measurement, we hope that Springtide can serve as a platform for care and research, ultimately establishing the gold standard in this field."