The Help Group Virtual Summit 2023

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
Dr. Geschwind will present the current state of autism genetics, which has revolutionized our understanding of the origins and biological underpinnings of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Over 100 genes that contribute to ASD risk have been identified, which point to specific cell types and developmental periods of maximum risk. This provides hope for the development of targeted therapies. He will also discuss his groups work on disparities in autism diagnosis.

Learning Objectives:
Describe what a de novo mutation is and how it relates to ASD risk.

Explain whether there is evidence for genes acting via common pathways in ASD.

Describe disparities in age at diagnosis in different populations.

Speakers:

Daniel Geschwind, MD, PhD

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
This presentation will cover the longstanding neglect of girls (and women) with ADHD in the scientific literature (and in clinical practice), including a "top 10" list of relevant reasons for this neglect. It also highlights the relatively recent surge of such research and clinical interest, the particular ways in which assessments can better cover female manifestations, and important data from lifespan (longitudinal) research on the long-range outcomes of girls carefully diagnosed with ADHD during childhood. Such research emphasizes the high risk such girls incur for issues like self-injury, unplanned pregnancy, underachievement in math, and vocational problems; relevant mechanisms include self-image, trauma histories, executive functions, and peer relationships. Although males and females tend to respond similarly to evidence-based treatments for ADHD, I present data on sex differences in treatment response. Above all, I feature information about how to promote strengths in females with ADHD across developmental periods. Educational goals are to foster awareness of ADHD in girls, which symptoms and impairments to emphasize in assessments, and fostering a more inclusive view of the ADHD syndrome.

Learning Objectives:
Identify key reasons for the long-term neglect of ADHD in girls and women.

Describe factors that may delay or "miss" ADHD presentation in girls and women.

Discuss key long-range impairments experienced by girls with ADHD, which may differ in key respects for such outcomes in boys.

Speakers:

Stephen P. Hinshaw, PhD

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
Text level reading disabilities are products of breakdowns in basic reading skills, including automaticity of word reading, but also occurs as disabilities involving comprehension with intact word level skills. This presentation focuses on specific reading comprehension disability (SRCD). Less common and less well understood than dyslexia, SRCD reflects parallel impairments of both listening and reading comprehension, but the reading impairments tend to be more severe. Unpacking the listening comprehension difficulties are problems with vocabulary and oral language, background knowledge, and strategic knowledge. Contemporary frameworks for understanding reading comprehension will be presented. intervention methods that address SRCD will also be included, with particular focus on teaching strategic knowledge. SRCD is often seen in children with ADHD because of their difficulties with real time processing, but may not reflect a true learning disability. In contrast, SRCD is frequently seen in children with congenital neurological disorders who are often hyperlexic. The neural and genetic correlates of SRCD will be discussed, along with the limited information on long-term development in this population. SRCD often co-occurs in children with oral language disorders and in English learners (ELs). The role of executive functions at the level of cognitive function and the brain will be addressed.

Learning Objectives:
Identify specific reading comprehension disabilities and distinguish them from dyslexia.

Address effective interventions to improve comprehension in strugggling readers.

Discuss the role of executive functions in reading comprehension.

Speakers:

Jack M. Fletcher, PhD

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
During the COVID-19 pandemic, when medical centers restricted in-person services for many months, families encountered difficulties obtaining autism diagnostic services. Measures appropriate for tele-assessment began to be much more widely used in order to meet the needs of young children with developmental challenges. This talk will present options for remote assessment and diagnosis of young children with early signs of autism spectrum disorder. New data on accuracy of remote assessment measures will be presented. Discussion will also cover measurement of developmental functioning and provision of clinical feedback to parents via telehealth platform.

Learning Objectives:
Identify instruments appropriate for tele-assessment of ASD.

Evaluate the accuracy of tele-diagnostic measures relative to traditional in-person diagnostic instruments.

Articulate the benefits and challenges of tele-assessments for families.

Speakers:

Sally Ozonoff, PhD

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
The COVID-19 pandemic has directly impacted 2.59 billion youth worldwide, 1.53 billion of whom were negatively impacted by prolonged school closures. Worldwide, rates of depression (25%) and anxiety (21%) in youth have doubled compared to pre-pandemic estimates. This presentation will review the clinical and functional (e.g., social, school, familial) impacts of the pandemic on children, adolescents, and families with special emphasis on youth with ADHD, anxiety, tic and depressive disorders. Strategies and resources for parents, educators, and clinicians to help children with the above disorders overcome these negative impacts will be described.

Learning Objectives:
Articulate the clinical and functional impacts of the COVID pandemic on youth with ADHD, anxiety, tic and depressive disorders.

Explain effective strategies for helping impacted youth overcome these negative impacts.

Implement these strategies to help impacted youth overcome these negative impacts.

Speakers:

John C. Piacentini, PhD

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
This presentation will provide educators with clear ideas about how to use explicit instruction to inform classroom teachers' practice as well as modify reading interventions for students with dyslexia. Unique ideas about the appropriate use of deliberate practice within instruction will be provided. This research-based presentation will be jam packed with educator friendly ideas that can be used by coaches and teachers.

Learning Objectives:
Define several criteria for explicit instruction and provide an example of how to improve explicit instruction in reading for students with dyslexia.

Define deliberate practice in teaching and learning and provide an example of when and how to use deliberate practice when teaching reading to students with dyslexia.

Speakers:

Sharon Vaughn, PhD

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
The presentation will focus on early interventions in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It will include a brief review of behavioral, developmental, and naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions. Data from a recently completely randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of a developmental reciprocity treatment, a developmentally-based intervention, in ASD will be presented. Additionally, evidence supporting the efficacy of pivotal response treatment (PRT), a behaviorally-based intervention, will be presented including data from meta-analytic work. The presentation will end with a summary and future directions.

Learning Objectives:
Differentiate between different types of early interventions.

Define naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions.

Describe pivotal response treatment.

Speakers:

Antonio Hardan, MD

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
This presentation will review research regarding the role of parents and family accommodation in childhood anxiety and related disorders and will introduce SPACE (Supportive Parenting for Anxious Childhood Emotions), an evidence-based treatment approach.

Learning Objectives:
Explain associations between family accommodation and child anxiety.

Assess levels of family accommodation.

Apply tools to reduce family accommodation and increase parental support.

Speakers:

Eli Lebowitz, PhD

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
This presentation examines the important role of language variation in teaching African American children to read.

Learning Objectives:
Identify African American English features.

Describe the importance of integrating language variation into teaching of reading.

Discuss the important role of translanguaging and linguistic capital in literacy instruction of African American children.

Speakers:

Julie A. Washington, PhD

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
Understanding the needs of the autistic psychotherapy client in terms of providing informed and affirming therapy is imperative to a productive clinical relationship. This presentation will review the current conceptualization of autism and how to apply this to the "talk therapy" room. Intervention strategies for various ages and mental health concerns, like anxiety and depression, will be shared.

Learning Objectives:
List the primary mental health concerns that an autistic client may present with.

Describe at least 2 therapeutic techniques that can be easily incorporated into a clinician's practice.

Discuss why the purpose of psychotherapy is not to make client's "less autistic" or cure them of their autism.

Speakers:

Laurie Stephens, PhD

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
This talk focuses on the evolving role that everyday technologies play in the lives of children with autism spectrum disorders. Platforms discussed include mobile applications, video games, social robots, and virtual/augmented reality. Applications include systems for measuring developmental abilities (including early screening for autism), systems with therapeutic or educational intent, and augmentative aids. We discuss how these platforms have evolved over time, why they work, and how their future intertwines with the everchanging landscape of technological innovation and invention. We discuss trends in machine learning, computer vision, and big data and discuss their potential for shaping the way we think about technology for developmental conditions and translational science. Along the way, we also discuss potential drawbacks of technology, their limitations, and discuss how our community can work together to meet current and future challenges.

Learning Objectives:
Describe the unique advantages and tradeoffs of technology-based tools for use with children with ASD.

Describe multiple applications where technology-based tools can support children and families of children with ASD.

Discuss the increasing challenges faced by scientists, parents, and autistics in the evaluation and selection of appropriate technologies for an individual.

Speakers:

Frederick Shic, PhD

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
In this talk, Dr. Magaña will discuss the need for culturally tailored interventions for parents of children diagnosed with ASD and the process of cultural adaptation. She will use examples from her own research in which a parent educational intervention was developed for Latino families of children diagnosed with ASD and later adapted for African American, Chinese American, and low-resource communities.

Learning Objectives:
Identify at least 3 key components important for cultural adaptation.

Apply at least one strategy for working with diverse populations in their own practice.

Speakers:

Sandra Magaña, PhD, MSW

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
This presentation will share current evidence about treatment for irritability and agitation in children, adolescents, and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and outline a comprehensive approach to assessment and treatment for these symptoms. Recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses, as well as randomized controlled trials from the past three years, will be reviewed and presented. Irritability and agitation are easily observed but non-specific symptoms that can reflect multiple underlying causes. A careful assessment process will often identify co-occurring medical or psychiatric disorders. Successful treatment almost always includes approaches to improve communication and optimize behavioral contingencies. Medication treatment targeting irritability and agitation symptoms can be very helpful within this multimodal treatment context but requires careful monitoring and management of side effects. Clinical cases will be used as examples of the challenges and successes in management of severe irritability, agitation, and aggression in ASD.

Learning Objectives:
Discuss the evidence base for treating irritability and agitation symptoms in ASD.

Explain the approach to evaluating potential causes or triggers for irritability and agitation symptoms.

Consider the appropriate threshold for prescribing medications for irritability/agitation symptoms in ASD.

Speakers:

Jeremy Veenstra – VanderWeele, MD

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
Sensory processing challenges are extremely common in autism, with sensory over-responsivity in particular creating a barrier to quality of life and ability to participate in the community. Individuals with sensory over-responsivity have heightened responses to sensations such as scratchy clothing, loud or unexpected noises, or bright lights. Until recently, very little was known about the underlying biology of sensory over-responsivity, making it difficult to establish research-based interventions. This presentation will describe imaging research examining how the brain reactivity and regulation in response to aversive sensory stimulation in children and youth with autism, with a focus on how these studies are providing new directions and insights into possible interventions.

Learning Objectives:
Identify who has sensory over-responsivity and how it impairs daily life.

Describe some of the brain mechanisms underlying sensory over-responsivity.

Explain how current brain research on sensory over-responsivity informs treatment approaches.

Speakers:

Shulamite Green, PhD

Level of Instruction: Intermediate

Presentation Description:
In the past several years, a growing amount of literature has been published looking at the increased incidence of co-occurring diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and gender dysphoria (GD). Given the increase in numbers of individuals presenting for mental health care, as well as the unique stressors and needs of each group, it is important for clinicians and providers to understand the current data and its limitations. The goal of this talk will be to present the updated literature on the topic as well as highlight important clinical considerations when working with neuro- and gender-diverse groups.

Learning Objectives:
Describe the most current literature on co-occurring diagnoses of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and gender dysphoria (GD).

Discuss gaps and limitations of the current literature on co-occurring diagnoses of ASD and GD.

Identify at least one strength as well as one area of need among gender diverse youth diagnosed with ASD.

Speakers:

Brandon S. Ito, MD, MPH