Autism Masterclass to Support Youth & Young Adults: Strengths-Based Social and Behavioral Interventions to Address Complex Challenges

Credit

Program Information

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

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Canada Credit - *

NOTE: Tuition includes one free CE Certificate (participant will be able to print the certificate of completion after passing the online post-test (80% passing score) and completing the evaluation). Instructional methods will include PowerPoint, didactic lecture, and others.

Continuing Education Information:  Listed below are the continuing education credit(s) currently available for this non-interactive self-study package. Program content is reviewed periodically per accrediting board rules for currency and appropriateness for credit. Credit approvals are subject to change. Please note, your licensing board dictates whether self-study is an acceptable form of continuing education, as well as which credit types are acceptable for continuing education hours. Please refer to your licensing board's rules and regulations. If your profession is not listed, please contact your licensing board to determine your continuing education requirements and check for reciprocal approval. 
For other credit inquiries not specified below, please contact info@pesi.com or 800-844-8260 before purchase.

Materials that are included in this course may include interventions and modalities that are beyond the authorized practice of your profession.  As a licensed professional, you are responsible for reviewing the scope of practice, including activities that are defined in law as beyond the boundaries of practice in accordance with and in compliance with your profession's standards.  

For Planning Committee disclosures, please see the statement above.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

 

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Canada Credit - ---

Earn up to 12.5 CE hours. Please see below, for more details, as credit amounts vary by jurisdiction and profession. 

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Canada Credit - Canadian Counsellors and Psychotherapists

PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association to offer continuing education for counsellors and psychotherapists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This self-study activity is approved for 12.5 credit hours.

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Canada Credit - Social Workers - National ASWB ACE

PESI, Inc., #1062, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: January 27, 2023 - January 27, 2026. Social workers completing this course receive 12.75 Clinical continuing education credits.

 

Course Level: Intermediate Format: Recorded asynchronous distance. Full attendance is required; no partial credits will be offered for partial attendance.

 

Canadian Social Workers: Canadian provinces may accept activities approved by the ASWB for ongoing professional development.

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Canada Credit - Canadian Psychologists

PESI, Inc. is approved by the Canadian Psychological Association to offer continuing education for psychologists. PESI, Inc. maintains responsibility for the program. This program is approved for 12.5 self-study continuing education hours. Full credit statement at: www.pesi.com/cpa-statement

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Canada Credit - Other Professions

This self-study activity qualifies for 12.5 continuing education clock hours as required by many national and local licensing boards and professional organizations. Save your activity advertisement and certificate of completion, and contact your own board or organization for specific requirements.

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US National Boards - Occupational Therapists & Occupational Therapy Assistants

 

PESI, Inc.  is an AOTA Approved Provider of professional development. Approved provider # 3322. This Distance-Learning Independent activity is offered at 1.25  CEUs Intermediate, OT Service Delivery. The assignment of AOTA CEUs does not imply endorsement of specific course content, products, or clinical procedures by AOTA.   Full attendance at this live activity qualifies for 12.5 contact hours.

 

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Handouts

Speaker

Rebecca Sachs, PhD, ABPP Related seminars and products

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Rebecca Sachs, PhD, ABPP, is a clinical psychologist specializing in the assessment and treatment of individuals on the Autism spectrum who also experience difficult co-occurring disorders, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and severe anxiety. She works with individuals across the lifespan and loves to talk, lecture and train others about autism and common complicated co-morbidities. Dr. Sachs is board certified in Behavioral and Cognitive Psychology and brings warmth, sensitivity, and a strong sense of humor to her work as a psychologist. She was recognized as a rising star by the Anxiety and Depression Association of America (ADAA), receiving their Career Development Leadership Award in 2015. Dr. Sachs received her Bachelor's degree and PhD from New York University and Hofstra University, respectively, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the University of Miami. Dr. Sachs is excited to start a second venture this year- a school refusal program for students 6th grade and beyond.

 

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Dr. Rebecca Sachs is the co-founder of Successful School Transitions and maintains a private practice. She receives a grant from New York State Department of Mental Health. Dr. Sachs receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. She has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Dr. Rebecca Sachs is a member of the Anxiety and Depression Association of America, the Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism Associations, the Association for Behavioral and Cognitive Therapies, and the New York State Psychological Association.

Additional Info

Program Information

Access never expires for this product.

For a more detailed outline that includes times or durations of time, if needed, please contact  cepepesi.com

Visit our FAQ page at https://www.pesicanada.ca/faq or contact us at https://www.pesicanada.ca/contact-us.

Objectives

1. Determine information processing differences in autistic clients.
2. Assess, screen, and diagnose autism across the life span.
3. Identify the importance of listening to and validating lived experiences of autistics clients.
4. Create comprehensive treatment plans that target autism related challenges.
5. Use appropriate communication and therapeutic style to facilitate reciprocal collaboration with autistic clients.
6. Create collaborative goals with autistic clients and their families for co-occurring mental health conditions.
7. Identify modifications to CBT for autism with co-occurring anxiety and OCD.
8. Use CBT techniques, including behavioral activation and DBT, to treat depression in clients with autism.
9. Choose developmentally appropriate interventions to teach autistic clients about safe sexual behaviors.
10. Develop individualized strategies to assist clients with challenges in executive functioning improve their daily living skills.
11. Evaluate the ethical dilemmas associated with utilizing restraint and seclusion punishment techniques.
12. Identify the potential side effects of psychotropic medication that can mimic or cause behavioral issues related to autism and co-occurring conditions.

Outline

Rethink Autism

• DSM-5™ and medical model
• Autism vs autism spectrum disorder
• Information processing differences
• Language matters
• Why listening to autistic voices is important

Assessments: From Observational to Standardized Tools

• Diagnostic tools and evaluations across the lifespan
• Screeners for anxiety, depression, OCD
• Modified checklists for infants and toddlers
• Neurodiversity affirming and strengths-based assessment
• “Pink flags” and gender considerations
• Accurately interpret reports to guide interventions
• Functional assessments to guide interventions

Effectively Intervene Early

• How to support lagging skills and unmet needs
• Developmental interventions to express feelings
• Ethical principles to educate and support families in treatment choices
• Case study: 4-yr-old, difficulty with expressing thoughts and feelings when frustrated

It’s Never Too Late: Intervening at Later Stages of Life

• How to support lagging skills and unmet needs
• Self-developed compensatory strategies
• Diagnostic trauma: Impact of chronic invalidation and being misunderstood
• Social camouflage and “unmasking autism”
• Educational interventions for family members
• Case study: Mid-thirties, recent diagnosis, social and employment difficulties

Thinking Differences to Help Autistic Individuals Thrive

• Increase predictability and understanding
• Incorporate intense interests and passions
• Meet the preference for sameness and structure
• Case study: 16-yr-old, self-injections for medical condition, fear of needles

Executive Functioning Differences in Autistic individuals and “AuDHD”

• Planning, prioritizing, and initiation skills
• Attention, organizational, and self-management skills
• Form helpful habits, routines, and repetition
• Value-driven goals and pacing to individual needs
• Self-advocacy, accommodations, expectations, and supports
• Case study: College student, needs help with balancing academic and social demands

Communication and Social Interaction Needs

• Functional systems to improve communication
• Pragmatic language and the “hidden curriculum”
• Assertive communication training
• Neurodivergent and affirming communities
• Typical social cues may not be rewarding
• Impact of sensory, emotion regulation, EF on communication
• Case study: 8-yr-old, anxiety when transitioning or classmates crying

Emotion Information Processing Differences and Supports

• Understand alexithymia and teach emotion identification
• Arousal and amplitude of emotional experiences
• How emotional processing and sensory differences interact
• Implications of the double empathy problem and how to address
• Distress tolerance skills

Manage and Sensory, Motor, and Interoception Needs

• Preventative strategies and accommodations
• Supports for ADLs and reframe stimming
• Exposure to sensory stimuli, in the context of choice and empowerment
• Alternatives to support fading out severe selfstimulatory behavior
• Case study: 5-yr-old, sensory overwhelm from sounds, crying, and scratching self and others

Behaviors that Challenge vs. Challenging Behaviors

• When core needs are unmet and how to respond
• Functional assessment and empower prevent-teach-respond interventions
• Untreated co-occurring conditions and “oppositional behaviors”
• Teach new skills and make behavior choices concrete
• Use positive, negative, and differential reinforcement
• Educational interventions for family members
• Case study: 10-yr-old, disruptive when speech therapist engages with other students

Treating Co-Occurring Anxiety, OCD, and Related Conditions

• CBT model, gradual exposure and hierarchy creation
• Modifications to CBT for autistic and ID clients
• Teach relaxation and other calm down skills
• Teach problem-solving and coping skills
• Ritual delay and ritual shortening
• Good vs. bad accommodations
• Case study: 12-yr-old, emetophobia impacted ability to engage in school and social activities

Reduce Depressive Symptoms and Suicidal Ideation

• How depression looks different in autistic individuals
• Factors impacting co-occurring autism and depression
• Self-injurious, non-suicidal behaviors in autistic individuals
• Psychosocial interventions: Experiential activities
• Cognitive-behavioral therapy modifications, including DBT
• Case study: 23-yr-old, skipping college classes, fights with parents, depressive symptoms

Romance, Sexuality, and Identity Considerations

• Body awareness, exploration of self, consent, and boundaries
• Address dating and sexual relationships
• Sexual arousal, puberty, education, modeling
• Gender identity, gender fluidity and LGBTQ
• Case study: 15-yr-old, frequent masturbation, provocative sexual talk

Psychopharmacological Interventions

• Commonly prescribed medications and efficacy
• Address medication management needs
• Risks vs. benefits
• Case study: Young adult, taking medication to stabilize mood, takes food from others

Ethical Challenges in Autism

• Informed consent and assent
• When an autistic child doesn’t want to be in therapy
• Use of restraints, time-out vs. seclusion
• Case study: 13-yr-old male, attacks others when prevented from touching necklaces on attractive girls

Special Considerations

• Trauma and autism: Similarities, differences, when they co-occur
• Sleep issues and sleep regulation
• Multicultural and gender differences
• Independent living/career planning
• Guardianship and legal issues
• Limitations of research and potential risks

Target Audience

• Psychologists
• Counsellors
• Social Workers
• Marriage and Family Therapists
• School Psychologists
• School Counsellors
• School Social Workers
• Speech-Language Pathologists
• Occupational Therapists
• Occupational Therapy Assistants
• School Administrators
• Special Education Teachers
• General Education Teachers
• School-based Personnel
• Behavioral Intervention Specialists
• Psychiatrists
• Educational Paraprofessionals
• Youth Leaders
• Probation Officers
• Clergy
• Other helping professionals who work with children/adolescents/young adults