FRIDAY, OCTOBER 14
7:00 AM – 7:45 AM
Check-in & Continental Breakfast
7:45 AM – 8:00 AM
Opening Proceedings
8:00 AM – 9:15 AM
Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, MD
Adjunct Associate Professor, AHFMR Health Scholar, Co-director – Autism Research Centre, Associate Professor – Department of Pediatrics University of Alberta
Pushing the Boundaries of Early Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder
Level/Audience: Intermediate/General
The goals of this session are to orient attendees to advances in early detection and diagnosis of ASD, including the potential for identification of infant and toddlers at risk as symptoms first emerge. The presentation will also emphasize the diversity among individuals with ASD, and the implications for symptom detection and diagnosis, as well as the broader health systems issues that influence timing of diagnosis. The concept of ‘timely diagnosis’ will be introduced; that is, ensuring the diagnostic process is responsive to family concerns and not delayed by bottlenecks in the service system, but might still vary based on characteristics of the individual. The approach of starting interventions for functional impairments even prior to establishing categorical diagnoses will also be discussed, as will the unique challenges of assessing older youth and adults.
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Recite 5 behavioral features detectable in infants at risk that can precede full expression of ASD symptoms.
2. List child and family factors currently associated with timing of ASD diagnosis, and strategies that could help lower the average age of diagnosis
3. Evaluate advantages and disadvantages of assessment models for ASD, and consider how to improve diagnostic capacity in their own communities
9:15 AM – 10:30 AM
Shafali Jeste, MD
Associate Professor in Psychiatry,Neurology and Pediatrics University of California,
Los Angeles David Geffen School of Medicine, Center for Autism Research and Treatment
2A- On the Road to Precision Health: Biomarkers and Clinical Trials in Autism Spectrum Disorder
Level/Audience: Intermediate/General
The presentation will start with an overall discussion about biomarkers and the reasons that we are trying to identify brain based biomarkers in ASD. I then will introduce EEG as a tool to study brain based biomarkers in ASD and share data from studies of ASD biomarkers in three key areas: Early risk prediction (studies of high risk infants), heterogeneity within the autism spectrum and genetically defined subgroups within ASD. Finally, I will discuss the challenges around clinical trial design and development in neurodevelopmental disorders and consider the ways in which more objective measures of brain function can improve clinical trials in ASD.
Outline
1. Overall discussion about biomarkers
a. The reasons that we are trying to identify brain based biomarkers in ASD.
2. Introduce EEG as a tool to study brain based biomarkers in ASD
a. Share data from studies of ASD biomarkers in three key areas: Early risk prediction (studies of high risk infants), heterogeneity within the autism spectrum and genetically defined subgroups within ASD.
3. Discuss the challenges around clinical trial design and development in neurodevelopmental disorders and
4. Consider the ways in which more objective measures of brain function can improve clinical trials in ASD.
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Describe the term biomarker, the reason that biomarkers are needed in ASD, and identify the challenges in developing biomarkers in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
2. Explain why electroencephalography (EEG) sheds light on brain function in ASD
3. Analyze the challenges in clinical trials in ASD and why these inherent challenges lead to “failure” of these trials.
Penelope Collins, PhD
Associate Professor, School of Education,
University of California, Irvine
2B – Literacy in the Digital Age: Supporting and Engaging Adolescents with Learning Disabilities
Level/Audience: Intermediate/General
Based on the Expectancy Value theory of motivation, attendees will be given an overview of evidence-based strategies for supporting literacy skills and engagement using digital tools.
Outline
1. Background: Social and emotional consequences of learning disabilities
2. Understanding motivation
a. Misconceptions about motivation
b. Expectancy Value theory of motivation
c. The role of motivation on engagement and achievement
3. Principles of Universal Design for Learning and its relation with motivation
a. Promotion of expectancies for success
b. Promotion of value of literacy
4. How digital tools can reflect UDL and motivation
a. Making challenging content accessible
b. Just-in-time support or scaffolding
c. High interest materials that are relevant to adolescents
d. Promoting student choice and autonomy
5. Examples of digital tools for reading and writing
a. Supporting decoding with Live Ink
b. Supporting close reading with Amplify
c. Supporting reading and writing with Udio
6. Conclusions: Digital tools can play a role in supporting adolescents with learning disabilities both in developing literacy skills and in promoting motivation.
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Describe the Expectancy Value theory of motivation, and how it applies to the literacy practices of adolescents with learning disabilities
2. Recite the principles of Universal Design for Learning
3. Identify digital tools and resources to support literacy skills and engagement for adolescents with learning disabilities.
Marian Williams, PhD, Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics University of Southern California
Amanda Tyree, M.A., CCC-SLP, Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics University of Southern California Keck School of Medicine
2C – Assessment of Bilingual Children with Autism and Other Developmental Disabilities: Update and Recommendations for Parents and Professionals
This presentation will provide research updates and recommendations for professionals and parents regarding bilingual children, including those with autism and other developmental disabilities. Information will be provided about (1) communication development in children exposed to two languages, (2) considerations for professionals when assessing bilingual children, including the perspectives of psychologists and speech-language pathologists, and (3) recommendations for parents, educators, and other professionals about how to support families in maintaining the home language for children with and without developmental disabilities.
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. List research findings related to bilingual language development in young children with autism and other developmental disabilities.
2. Explain the factors to consider when assessing a bilingual child.
3. Discuss how to support families in maintaining the home language for children with and without developmental disabilities.
10:30 – 10:45 Break*
10:45 – 12:00
Maja J. Matarić, PhD
Professor and Chan Soon-Shion Chair Computer Science, Neuroscience and Pediatrics Vice Dean for Research, Viterbi School of Engineering, Founding Director; USC Robotics and Autonomous Systems Center Director, USC Robotics Research Lab; Founder, Chief Science Officer, Embodied, Inc
3A – Endowing Socially Assistive Robots with the Ability To Help Young People with Autism and Other Special Needs
Define, recognize, and evaluate socially assistive robotics methods for users with special needs. Identify best uses of such technologies for users with special needs.
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
- Learn the differences between realistic technology uses and applications and hype involving robotics, AI and machine learning
- Understand the concept and applications of socially assistive robots Understand the state of science of socially assistive robotics for young people with special needs
- Understand the state of science of socially assistive robotics for young people with special needs
Donna Werling, PhD ,
Postdoctoral Scholar , University of California,
San Francisco School of Medicine
3B – Autism In Girls: Understanding the Female Protective Effect and Role of Sex-Differential Biology in Risk for Autism
Level/Audience: Intermediate/General
This presentation will summarize what is currently known about differences in the risk and prevalence of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) in males versus females, key questions regarding the origins of these differences, and what we stand to gain from better understanding the role of sex-differential biology in ASD. We will focus on the “female protective effect” model of autism risk, including a description of the conceptual framework behind this model, how scientists use this model to generate hypotheses and design experiments, and current supporting evidence from genetic and epidemiological studies. We will then review in detail published studies and work in progress that use gene expression data from human brain tissue to characterize the relationship between autism biology and typical sex differences in neurobiology. Results from these studies suggest a role for specific neural cell types in the biological processes that link sex differences and autism risk, highlighting a path forward for future research.
Educational goals:
• Understand what current evidence shows about the relative numbers of males and females with autism diagnoses
• Recognize why more detailed knowledge about the biological processes that shape male and female risk for autism could be useful for patients and their families
• Understand what is meant by the female protective effect model, how researchers use this model to make and test predictions, and what study results suggest about the validity of these predictions
• Highlight a genomics/bioinformatics approach for identifying the key biological processes that are implicated in autism and that differ between the sexes at baseline
• Understand how gene expression data implicates microglia and astrocytes in male-typical and autistic neurobiology
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Define estimates of autism prevalence in males and females (male:female sex ratios) and the impact of ascertainment and methodology on these estimates
2. Explain the female protective effect model and the predictions can be made and tested from this model
3. Describe the results from genetic and epidemiological studies that support, or fail to support, the female protective effect model
12:00 – 1:00 Lunch*
1:00 – 2:15
Mirella Dapretto, PhD
Professor,University of California, Los Angeles
Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences
4A – Examining Early Social and Cognitive Development in Infant Siblings of Children with ASD
Level/Audience: Intermediate/General
The overarching goal of this lecture is to provide a thorough review of the extant literature on early neuroimaging markers of risk for ASD which examined brain development in infant siblings of children with ASD. Characterizing the early developmental trajectories of infants at high familial risk for ASD can offer new
insights into the neural mechanisms conferring greater risk for ASD and ultimately pave the way for early interventions that may stir development along more normative trajectories. This lecture will present findings from a growing number of structural and functional brain imaging studies in infants at high and low risk for
ASD which sought to identify early biomarkers of ASD with the ultimate goal of predicting future developmental outcome.
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Describe a summary of current work in this area by presenting key findings about structural and functional brain development in the first two years of life in infants at high risk for ASD (as compared to low risk controls)
2. Recite the potential, as well as the intrinsic limitations, of early neuroimaging markers of risk for ASD, to inform later diagnosis as well as our understanding of the neurobiology of ASD
Steve Lee, PhD
Professor, University of California, Los Angeles, Department of Psychology
4B – Resiliency in Youth With ADHD: Evidence and Prediction
Level/Audience: Intermediate/General
This presentation begins with an overview on what is known about resilient outcomes among youth with ADHD. The presentation will synthesize recent results from multiple longitudinal studies, from both clinic-referred and population-based samples, that speak to the persistent nature of ADHD and its related challenges. I will also refer to knowledge about predictors of resilience (e.g., family, academic, clinical) that should be an important part of clinical assessment of children and families.
Educational goals:
The educational goal for this presentation is to discuss the concept of resilience in youth ADHD. The presenter will discuss challenges in defining resilience across mental health, academic, and socio-emotional domains, especially across development. A second focus will be on what is known about the best predictors of resilience in youth ADHD, highlighting modifiable factors that represent logical targets for intervention.
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Define the key criteria that must be satisfied in the definition of resilience in youth ADHD;
2. Articulate how these criteria change from childhood to adolescence to adulthood;
3. Discuss the early factors that best predictors youth who show resilient outcomes in adolescence and early adulthood.
2:15 – 3:30
Lisa Aziz-Zadeh, PhD,
Associate Professor, Joint Appointment with the Department of Psychology at the USC Dana and
David Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences
5A – Toward A Better Understanding of Social & Motor Deficits in Children with ASD
TBD
Lorie Humphrey, PhD
Child and Adolescent Neuropsychologist
5B – Diagnosing Dyslexia: Reading Between the Lines
Level: Professionals engaged in assessment of student with dyslexia and ADHD, including applications for accommodations for high-stakes testing (such as college boards).
Dyslexia (a.k.a. Reading Disorder, RD) is the most researched learning disorder, as well as being one of the most widespread (5-15% of school age children per the DSM-5). Despite its prevalence, as well as its (often) easily-recognized symptoms, the process of diagnosing dyslexia is not necessarily straightforward. While practical models such as “response to treatment” (Fletcher, et al, 2007) have significantly improved the likelihood that school-age children will receive treatment, other venues, such as qualifying for accommodations for high-stakes testing such as college boards, continue to relay on the “discrepancy model,” an approach that is vulnerable to under-identification.
This presentation will take a closer look at current use of the “discrepancy model” for identifying reading disorders. The first section will provide information about dyslexia in general, including evolutionary questions, its significance historically, and differences in its presentation across different languages. The second section will look at ways of diagnosing dyslexia, with special emphasis on the “discrepancy model.” Additionally this section will provide information about how symptoms of other, co-existing disorders (such as ADHD) can impact scores, and potentially interfere with diagnostic clarity in terms of RD and other challenges.
General Outline of the Presentation
1. Description of Primary Features of Dyslexia,
2. Clinical presentation of dyslexia at different ages
3. Assessing dyslexia
4. Potential impact of co-morbidities (i.e., ADHD) on clarity of RD diagnosis
Goals:
1. Participants will be able to list specific skills that are at risk in people with dyslexia
2. Participants will be able to list co-existing challenges in students with dyslexia that may affect whether they are correctly identified and diagnosed.
3. Participants will be able to state the names of 3 reading tests known to be sensitive to dyslexia in high-functioning individuals
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Exhibit mastery in their ability to state core symptoms of dyslexia, and explain why these particular skills may be vulnerable.
2. Display mastery in their knowledge of disorders that often co-exist in people with dyslexia, as well as their understanding of how those symptoms may interfere with the diagnosis of dyslexia
3. Exhibit mastery in terms of understanding specific methods for measuring them using cognitive tests.
Alissa Ellis, PhD
Clinical Neuropsychologist, Health Sciences Assistant, Clinical Professor,
Semel Institute of Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles
5C – thinkSMARTer, not Harder: The Keys to Cultivating Executive Functioning Skills at Home and in the Classroom
Level: The presentation will be presented at a level that is appropriate for both parents and clinicians (or others who work with kids).
Presentation Description: This will be a power-point presentation that combines recent research with practical skills to enhance executive functioning.
Outline: The outline of the presentation will be to
1. Define executive functions
2. Describe why they are important to overall success
3. Highlight how they can be negatively affected
4. Review literature on the current treatments for EF weaknesses
5. Introduce the thinkSMART program
6. Show data from the program
7. Review skills/key points for its effectiveness
Educational Goals: The broad goals of the presentation are to highlight the importance of executive functioning skills in overall life success, identify the key considerations and obstacles of working with youths with EF weaknesses, and present practical strategies for overcoming executive functioning difficulties.
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Analyze what is meant by executive functions
2. Describe how weaknesses in executive functioning are related to life success
3. List strategies aimed at improving executive functioning in youth
3:30 – 3:45 Break*
3:45 – 5:00
Stephen Hinshaw, PhD
Professor of Psychology, UC Berkeley; Vice Chair for Psychology,
Department of Psychiatry UC San Francisco
6 – The Latest Findings on ADHD – Especially Girls and Women
Level/Audience: Intermediate/General
The presentation will begin with a brief overview of current controversies related to ADHD, including its rising prevalence and the need for evidence-based assessment procedures, before focusing on heritable vulnerability along with current knowledge of environmental forces that accentuate such genetic liability. The key focus will be on girls with ADHD, featuring longitudinal data from the presenter’s Berkeley Girls with ADHD Longitudinal Study (BGALS), the largest study of girls with ADHD in existence, now followed until their late 20s. Information on academic, vocational, social, and health-related outcomes will follow, including the huge risk for unplanned pregnancy and for self-harm in this sample. Mediators of such outcomes will be featured, along with the need for evidence-based interventions.
Goals: The audience will understand the combinations of genetic vulnerability and environmental risk (ranging from toxins to maltreatment) in shaping the onset and development of ADHD, with particular focus on the presenter’s large longitudinal study of girls with ADHD, who have now been followed into their mid-to-late 20s.
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Describe the current societal context surrounding ADHD, including its rising prevalence rates.
2. Explain the strongly heritable nature of ADHD dimensions of behavior with current knowledge about environmental risk factors that potentiate such genetic liability, including teratogens, toxins, and maltreatment,
3. Analyze information regarding the under-developed issues surrounding girls with ADHD, including reasons for their lowered prevalence, their huge risk for such key impairments as self-injury and unplanned pregnancy as they develop, and the need to engage them and their families in evidence-based interventions.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 15
7:30 AM – 8:30 AM
Check-in & Continental Breakfast
8:30 AM – 9:45AM
John Elder Robison
New York Times Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Educator and Advocate
1A – Special Presentation -Life with Autism: A Different Perspective
TBD
Jack Fletcher, PhD
Hugh Roy and Lillie Cranz Cullen Distinguished University Professor, University of Houston
1B – Keynote – Understanding Dyslexia and Its Implications for Identification and Treatment
Level/Audience: Intermediate/General
In the past year, there has been a concerted effort to highlight dyslexia as a specific learning disability, with attempts to introduce special provisions in the legislation reauthorizing the Elementary and Secondary Education Act. Many states have passed legislation requiring schools to identify students with dyslexia and provide them with interventions specific to dyslexia. With these public policy issues in the background, this presentation will discuss a scientific view of dyslexia as a well-understood form of learning disability with specific reading, cognitive, neural, and genetic characteristics. However, the attributes of dyslexia are dimensional, not categorical. Therefore, precise estimates of prevalence are relative to the adopted criteria. It is difficult to differentiate children with dyslexia from children with word reading and spelling difficulties who may be lower in intelligence, have comorbid problems with math or ADHD on reading and neural characteristics. There is little evidence of dyslexia-specific interventions, although explicit instruction in the alphabetic principle as early in schooling as possible is essential for any student with problems acquiring word reading and spelling skills. Like other learning disabilities, dyslexia is real, interferes with adaptation, and has prominent neurobiological correlates. But the neural systems are malleable and many students can overcome the reading problem with early intervention. Intractability to instruction makes dyslexia unexpected, not a cognitive discrepancy.
Outline
I. Background: Recent public policy initiatives
II. Definition and prevalence of dyslexia
III. Role of IQ and cognitive assessments
IV. Specificity and comorbidity
V. Causes of Dyslexia
a. Neural correlates
b. Genetic factors
c. Environmental factors
d. Instruction
VI. Treatment
a. The importance of early intervention
b. Intense remedial efforts
c. Integrating through a Multi-tiered System of Supports (MTSS)
d. Dyslexia as intractability to effective intervention
VI. Conclusions: Children with dyslexia are hard to teach, not unable to learn
Learning Goals
1. Understand research on dyslexia and its implications for identification and treatment
2. Appreciate the role of academic and cognitive assessments in identification and evaluation
3. Understand dimensional concepts of learning disabilities
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Define and identify dyslexia
2. Indicate general principles whereby how dyslexia is treated though early intervention and remediation
3. Articulate the role of neuroscience and genetics as causes of dyslexia
9:45 – 10:45
John Elder Robison
New York Times Best-Selling Author, Speaker, Educator and Advocate
2A – The Challenge and Opportunity of Neurodiversity: A Community Approach
TBD
Stephen Hinshaw, PhD, Professor of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley
2B – Mental Health Stigma & Families: The Next Frontier
Level/Audience: Intermediate/General
The presentation will begin with information about the still-high rates of stigma that pertain to mental health in the 21st century, defining the key components of stigma (stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination; self-stigma and associated stigma). A deep narrative of the presenter’s family will then take place, emphasizing the need for openness rather than shame and silence about mental illness in parents and in children. The presentation will conclude with an outline of strategies designed to reduce stigmatization.
Goals: The audience will understand the huge gap between mental health knowledge and mental health attitudes in the U.S. (and abroad), and come away with a deeper appreciation of the shame and stigma that still pertain to child, adolescent, and parent mental illness.
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Compile information on the gap between the continuing improvements in mental health knowledge in the U.S. across the past half-century vs. the lagging attitudinal change regarding mental health conditions during that time span.
2. Comprehend the multiple levels constituting mental health stigma: stereotypes, prejudice, and discrimination.
3. Discuss the related concepts of internalized stigma and associated (courtesy) stigma.
11:00 – 12:00
Ty Vernon, PhD
Director, Koegel Autism Center, Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychology, University of California, Santa Barbara
3A – Modifying Pivotal Response Treatment to Jump- Start Social Development in Toddlers with ASD
Level/Audience: Beginning – Intermediate/General
This presentation focuses on the evolution and current research of the Pivotal Response Treatment model, an autism intervention that combines strength-based motivational strategies with behavioral techniques to transform child development. Specifically, this presentation will focus on methods that parents and clinicians can use to foster interpersonal engagement and accrue critical social momentum with young children with ASD. Practical strategies, video examples, and evidence from single subject research and randomized controlled trials will be highlighted.
Outline of Presentation:
• History and Development of PRT
• Core Principles of PRT
• Social Reinforcement and PRT
• Evidence from Recent Research
• Future Directions
Educational/Learning Goals:
• Attendees will be able to articulate core principles of the PRT model
• Attendees will understand how to modify PRT to directly target social engagement
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Implement PRT child choice procedures
2. Implement PRT clear opportunity procedures
3. Describe how to implement PRT social reinforcement procedures
Ellis Crasnow, PhD
Director, STEM³ Academy and STEM Education, The Help Group
Gray Benoist Sr.
Principal, MindSpark
David R. Ewart Jr., MEd
Principal of STEM3 Academy, Valley Glen
Amy Griffiths, PhD
Assistant Professor, Attallah College of Educational Studies, Chapman University
3B – Strengths and Opportunities in STEM—Autism in the School and the Workplace
Level/Audience: Beginning – Intermediate/General
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
There are many more opportunities open to those on the autism spectrum than ever before. It is now recognized that these individuals have natural talents and skills that lend themselves to STEM pursuits and to many technical jobs that are in high demand. The panelists will discuss these skills, what an ideal education for students with such skills could be like, and what the prospects after graduating high school are.
1) We will learn what some of the natural talents and skills of those on the autism spectrum are.
2) We will learn what some of the ways are to best educate someone with such natural talents.
3) We will learn what opportunities there are after graduation for those on the spectrum.
12:00 – 1:00
Josh Mandelberg, MD, FAAP
Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrician,
Private Practice
Jason Bolton, PsyD
Moderator
Vice President of Programs
The Help Group
4A – Exploring a Developmental Pediatrician’s Perspective on Autism and ADHD
Dr. Mandelberg will discuss some of the challenges in screening for developmental issues in general pediatrics and discussing the range of assessments and treatments in Developmental-Behaviroal Pediatrics.
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
- Understanding the challenges and potental strategies to help with accurately detecting children with developmental concerns by general pediatricians
- Understanding some of the assessments for children with developmental issues including genetic testing
- Understanding some of the treatments for children with developmental issues including different medications
Lois Jean Brady, CCC-SLP, Speech Pathologist, Assistive Technology Specialist
4B – Using Technology to Build Core Vocabulary and Meaningful Exchanges – Beginning with the End in Mind
Level/Audience: Intermediate/General
This presentation will demonstrate strategies that use apps and technology to build speech, language, functional communication, literacy, and quality of life for students on the autism spectrum by beginning with the end in mind. By focusing on high frequency, core vocabulary combined with literacy skills, and a vision of the end results, we can build life-long communication skills.
Outline
Communication – AAC
• Expressive language
• Grid
• Scene Display
• Text-to-Speech
• Choosing the Right App for AAC
Core/Fringe Vocabulary
• What is Core Vocabulary
• Strategies to teach core vocabulary
• Evidence Based Practice (table)
Language
• Verbs
• Emotions
• Building Self-Monitoring Skills
• Language Strategies for Autism
Literacy
• Words
• Phrases
• Keyboard
• Writing
Accessories
• Cases
• Stylus
Information & Support
• Where to get more information
• Foundations that give grants
• References
At the end of this session, attendees will be able to:
1. Identify 30+ apps, and possess a reference list, that promote communication, literacy, speech production, language, concept development, and independence.
2. Describe the basic operation of an iDevice and iOS five main accessibility features
3. Explain how technology and the iPad fit into 22 Evidence Based Practices
