Full Course Description
Advanced Assessment of Autism in Children, Teens & Young Adults: Differential Diagnosis, Masking & Internalizing Profiles
Details coming soon!
Copyright :
11/18/2026
Sensory & Interoceptive Foundations for Emotional and Behavioral Regulation Across Development
Details coming soon!
Copyright :
11/18/2026
When Autism Support Needs Are High: Tools for Regulation, Communication & Daily Life
Details coming soon!
Copyright :
11/18/2026
Autistic Family and Sibling Dynamics: Fostering Understanding, Balance, and Support
Details coming soon!
Copyright :
11/18/2026
Autism, Gender Diversity & Bullying: Protecting Youth in School & Community Spaces
Details coming soon!
Copyright :
11/18/2026
PDA, Autonomy & Nervous-System-Driven Demand Avoidance Across Development: Transforming Combative to Collaborative
Finally understand the child, teen, or young adult who appears to “refuse everything” – creating a powerful shift for families who feel stuck & helpless.
This session reframes demand avoidance as a nervous-system-driven response rooted in anxiety, sensory overload, and self-regulation challenges, offering families and clinicians a respectful, effective path forward.
- PDA related to anxiety and sensory overload vs oppositional defiance
- Autonomy-first approaches that reduce nervous-system threat and support self-regulation and emotional safety
- Flexible-thinking and tolerance-building supports that address perspective mismatch, emotional awareness, and relational regulation
- Low-pressure environments that promote participation, collaboration, and safety across home, school, and community contexts
Program Information
Objectives
- Identify and discern the differences between PDA and ODD.
- Utilize technique to identify the function of a PDA behavior and promote awareness of Individualized reinforcements.
- Identify the 7 methods of collaborative communication to diffuse PDA behaviors.
Outline
What is PDA and how is it misinterpreted as ODD (limitations of research and potential risks)
- What are the differences? What are the similarities (Brief symptom review)
- Mood/Sensory dysregulation
- Distraction avoidance
- Social appearance (bossy/controlling)
- Refusal to access help
- Rich imaginative play
- How do we tease these things apart, and how does this inform our interactions?
What are the goals of the PDA individual?
- Power/Control across the developmental spectrum
- Anxiety regulation
- How is this creating a predictable attachment cycle (activity for attachment cycle)
Techniques for a Collaborative environment and diffusing PDA:
- Minimizing unneeded sensory input (environmental changes) brief discussion
- Awareness of vocal tone & tempo (Adult communication awareness) brief discussion
- Preparation of transitions (injecting a pause for expectation) Priming the Pump Activity
- Use of visual cuing (left/right hemisphere engagement for regulation) brief discussion
- Flexible thinking and compromise (collaborative communication) brief example
- Use of indirect language skills (open ended questions/creating creative approaches to task requests) brief example
- Indirect Praise and successive approximations brief discussion
Activity (Self-Esteem cake-)
- How do we help kids self-identify need not being met in their environment?
- How do we give kids a voice for the kinds of non-tangible reinforcements that work just for them?
Questions and Closing
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychologists
- Educators
- Occupational Therapists
- Speech Language Pathologists
- Marriage and Family Therapists
Copyright :
11/19/2026
Neurodiversity-Affirming Play Therapy for Connection & Regulation
Details coming soon!
Copyright :
11/19/2026
Sandtray & Sensory-Expressive Therapies for Minimally Speaking & Highly Distressed Youth
Details coming soon!
Copyright :
11/19/2026
From Compliance to Connection: Tools to Support Joint Engagement
Details coming soon!
Copyright :
11/19/2026
Collaboration 24/7 to Create Functional and Meaningful Accommodations
Details coming soon!
Copyright :
11/19/2026
Neurodevelopment, Co‑Occurring Conditions & Medical Supports in Autism
Autism emerges within a complex neurodevelopmental context that often includes medical, cognitive, emotional, and physiological differences. This session offers a concise framework for understanding brain development in autism, common co occurring conditions, and the appropriate role of pharmacological and nutritional supports within comprehensive, practical, neurodiversity affirming care.
- Neurodevelopmental foundations of autism, cognition, and self regulation across childhood
- Common co occurring conditions, including anxiety, ADHD, sleep disturbances, GI concerns, and mood differences
- Overview of pharmacological supports: indications, benefits, limitations, and monitoring within ethical autism care
- Nutritional considerations, feeding-related challenges, and evidence informed dietary supports
- Collaborative decision making strategies that respect autonomy and support whole child functioning
Program Information
Objectives
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Utilize clinical strategies to identify co-occurring physical and emotional conditions to enhance the developmental outcome for individuals with autism.
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Integrate wholistic strategies incorporating medical, behavioral, and psychological supports to enhance the quality of life for individuals with autism.
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Analyze the role of pharmacological and nutritional supports within comprehensive, neurodiversity-affirming care to support participation and functional outcomes for individuals with autism.
Outline
Neurodevelopmental
- Developmental foundations
- Executive functioning
- Emotional regulation
Co occurring conditions
- Physical: Constipation, seizures, sleep disorders
- Emotional: ADHD, anxiety, mood disorders
- Trauma and grief
- Limitations of the research and potential risks
Pharmacological support
- When more is needed
- The parent’s role
- Indications, benefits, limitations, and monitoring
Nutritional considerations
- Sensory sensitivities and feeding challenges.
- Dietary support
Family support
- Collaborative decision making strategies.
- Including the child in inclusive treatments!
Target Audience
- Counselors
- Social Workers
- Psychologists
- Educators
- Occupational Therapists
- Speech Language Pathologists
- Marriage and Family Therapists
Copyright :
06/22/2026