Archived Webinar - Customized Employment - Opening Doors for People on the Autism Spectrum

This webinar will provide an overview of the customized employment process including its utility in facilitating competitive, integrated employment outcomes for people with complex disabilities such as autism. Success stories and information about integration of customized employment strategies into vocational rehabilitation systems will be presented.

View the archived webinar here (takes a minute to load.)



Autism prevalence and socioeconomic status: What's the connection?

Children living in neighborhoods where incomes are low and fewer adults have bachelor's degrees are less likely to be diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder compared to kids from more affluent neighborhoods.

The finding is part of a new multi-institution study of autism spectrum disorder (ASD), led by Maureen Durkin of the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Waisman Center, and published recently in the American Journal of Public Health.

Read more here. 

Archived Webinar Series - Autism: Research & Medical Treatment Implications

Webcasts - view here at the Cleveland Clinic

Immunological Issues in Individuals with Autism: Part One
Judy Van de Water, PhD

Estimated Time:   45 minutes
Release Date:   August 14, 2017
Expiration Date:  August 14, 2019

Type: Webcast
Specialties: Neurology, Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Gastroenterology, Pathology, Internal Medicine

Immunological Issues in Individuals with Autism: Part Two
Judy Van de Water, PhD

Estimated Time:   30 minutes
Release Date:   August 14, 2017
Expiration Date:  August 14, 2019

Type: Webcast
Specialties: Neurology, Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Gastroenterology, Pathology, Internal Medicine

Anxiety in Individuals with Autism: Part One
Lauren Moskowitz, PhD

Estimated Time:   30 minutes
Release Date:   September 26, 2017
Expiration Date:  September 26, 2019

Type: Webcast
Specialties: Neurology, Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Gastroenterology, Pathology, Internal Medicine

Anxiety in Individuals with Autism: Part Two
Lauren Moskowitz, PhD

Estimated Time:   15 minutes
Release Date:   September 26, 2017
Expiration Date:  September 26, 2019

Type: Webcast
Specialties: Neurology, Pediatrics, Family Medicine, Gastroenterology, Pathology, Internal Medicine

WHAT PUTS YOUTH WITH AUTISM AT RISK FOR BEING HOSPITALIZED?

Children and teens with autism are more likely to be hospitalized for psychiatric care¹than their classmates. If we understand why, researchers ask, can we take steps to prevent their problems from reaching that point?

A new study outlines five factors that increase the risk of a psychiatric hospital stay in youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). They include, in decreasing order of risk, having:

• a mood disorder (such as depression, bipolar disorder, or disruptive mood dysregulation disorder)
• current sleep problems
• more severe autism symptoms,
• poor "adaptive" (or everyday living) skills
• a single-parent household.²

This study is among the first published from researchers in the Autism Inpatient Collection (AIC). The U.S.-based project aims to learn more about youth, ages 4 to 20, who are admitted to one of six in-patient psychiatry units that specialize in developmental disorders. (Youth with autism who are patients on general psychiatric units are not included in this project).

About 1 in 10 youth with autism are admitted to a hospital for mental health care.³ Studies like this one may help lead to better care and prevention of the behavioral crises that land youth in the hospital.

Read more here at IAN. 

Workshop - A Guide to Managing Challenging Behaviors

December 6 (8:00AM to 4:00PM)Hampton Inn (Great Falls)

December 7 (8:00AM to 4:00PM)
Fifth Avenue Christian Church (Havre)

6 OPI Renewal Units
Cost is free

The Guide to Managing Challenging Behaviors training involves an in-troduction to broad-spectrum behavior analysis in the form of the Pyramid Approach to Education. Discussion focuses on the importance of addressing students’ skill deficits prior to or simultaneously with ad-dressing behavior excess or other unwanted behavior is explored. In ad-dition, issues related to teaching skills are addressed. This workshop teaches participants to determine and define unwanted behavior targeted for intervention. Participants are assisted with understanding the func-tional assessment of behavior, and the selection and teaching of alterna-tive responses to replace unwanted behavior. Participants are exposed to antecedent strategies designed to reduce unwanted behavior as well as differential reinforcement procedures and consequence based strategies. Finally, issues related to the evaluation and monitoring of behavior plans are discussed.

Registration LINK

For more information contact Aileen Couch, Region II CSPD Coordinator, at cspd@blueponyk12.com or call 406-395-8550 (ext. 6714).

Transition Workshop: "Integrating Employability Skills: Improving Transition to Employment for Students with Disabilities"

(Dr. Tessie Rose Bailey, Presenter)

November 29 (9:00AM to 4:00PM)

Willson School
404 West Main, Bozeman

6 OPI Renewal Units
Cost is free
Stipend available

Students with disabilities require many skills for post-school success, including academic knowledge, technical expertise, and a set of general, cross-cutting abilities called employability skills. The U.S. Department of Education, through an initiative of the Office of Career, Technical, and Adult, developed the Employability Skills Framework in an effort to clearly identify the general skills necessary for success in the labor market at all employment levels and in all sectors. 

This interactive session will:

• Introduce participants to the Employability Skills Framework and explain why it is important for students with disabilities 
• Connect employability skill preparation to transition plans and lesson planning. 
• Provide tools and strategies to select appropriate assessments and prioritize employability skills at the employer, district, and individual teacher levels.  

The session is relevant for special and general educators, career and technical educators, and vocational rehabilitation staff.

Flyer LINK

Registration LINK (Course #9951)

Provided by Region IV CSPD

Transition Workshop: "Evidence-Based Instructional Strategies for Transition Training"

(Dr. Tessie Rose Bailey, Presenter)

November 28 8:30AM to 4:00PM)

Willson School
404 West Main, Bozeman

6 OPI Renewal Units
Cost is free
Stipend available

Looking for what works in transition planning? This interactive session will present validated approaches for transition assessment, instructional delivery, and data collection/analysis processes. In addition to modeling several evidence-based instructional strategies, this session will also demonstrate how educators can use existing resources to identify appropriate transition activities.

By the end of this session, participants will be able to:

• Use existing resources to identify evidence-based practices in transition services and planning
• Describe the components of three common evidence-based transition practices used in schools programs
• Design and implement a transition-based education for students with disabilities The session is relevant for educators responsible for supporting the development and implementation of transition programs. Although not required, participants are encouraged to bring samples of their own transition plans for activities.

Flyer LINK
Registration LINK (Course #9952)

Data do-over backs dominance of genetics in autism risk

A reanalysis of data from more than 2 million children in Sweden suggests inherited genetic factors account for 83 percent of autism risk1.

A 2014 study using the same dataset pointed to an equal contribution from genetics and the environment, but experts in the field were critical of the findings, citing flaws in the study’s methods.

Then, to their surprise, the researchers came up with a heritability estimate of 85 percent using an overlapping dataset of nearly 800,000 Swedish children2. That result prompted them to revisit their earlier work.

In both studies, non-inherited genetic factors called de novo mutations are included in the 17 percent of autism risk dubbed ‘environmental.’ De novo mutations are thought to be important in autism.

Read more here at Spectrum. 

Late birth linked to risk of autism with intellectual disability

Lee and his colleagues analyzed data from 480,728 individuals in the Stockholm Youth Cohort, an ongoing study of children born between 1984 and 2007 in Stockholm, Sweden. Of the roughly 2 percent of children diagnosed with autism, 2,368 have autism with intellectual disability and 7,657 have autism only.

The prevalence of autism is highest — 52.4 per 1,000 — in babies born at 27 weeks of gestation. The rate goes down every week until 40 weeks, when it stands at 19.8 in 1,000. It picks up again in children born between 41 and 43 weeks, when it peaks at 23 in 1,000.

The preterm pattern is similar for children who have autism alone and those who have autism with intellectual disability. But postterm, only the rate for autism with intellectual disability rises significantly, and the rise is small: from 4.6 to 6.2 per 1000 children. The findings were published 12 September in Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology.

Read the full article here at Spectrum. 

I Think We’re Alone Now: Solitary Social Behaviors in Adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder

Research into emotional responsiveness in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) has yielded mixed findings. Some studies report uniform, flat and emotionless expressions in ASD; others describe highly variable expressions that are as or even more intense than those of typically developing (TD) individuals. Variability in findings is likely due to differences in study design: some studies have examined posed (i.e., not spontaneous expressions) and others have examined spontaneous expressions in social contexts, during which individuals with ASD—by nature of the disorder—are likely to behave differently than their TD peers. 

To determine whether (and how) spontaneous facial expressions and other emotional responses are different from TD individuals, we video-recorded the spontaneous responses of children and adolescents with and without ASD (between the ages of 10 and 17 years) as they watched emotionally evocative videos in a non-social context. Researchers coded facial expressions for intensity, and noted the presence of laughter and other responsive vocalizations. 

Adolescents with ASD displayed more intense, frequent and varied spontaneous facial expressions than their TD peers. They also produced significantly more emotional vocalizations, including laughter. Individuals with ASD may display their emotions more frequently and more intensely than TD individuals when they are unencumbered by social pressure. Differences in the interpretation of the social setting and/or understanding of emotional display rules may also contribute to differences in emotional behaviors between groups.

Read more here. 


Gold Star to the researchers for the song reference.