Clinical Issues in ASD for the Neuropsychologist
Thursday, December 3, 2020
12:30 PM - 2:00 PM ET
1.5 CE Credit
Presented by:
Deborah Fein, Ph.D.
Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor of Psychology
University of Connecticut
This course will address some of the current issues that clinical neuropsychologists face when assessing individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). We will discuss some of the difficulties applying the DSM-5 criteria to various subgroups of ASD, as well as related difficulties in communicating about diagnosis, prognosis, and treatment options with parents. We will then discuss key areas to consider in completing neuropsychological assessment with school aged and adolescent individuals with ASD, including common medical and psychological comorbidities that may require referrals. We will consider possible outcomes, and discuss the early predictors of various probable outcomes. While not covering the broad topic of imaging in-depth, we will consider one imaging study and its implications for change within individuals with ASD. While evidence-based treatment for ASD comprises a very large body of literature, we will discuss several new therapies and some challenges with providing COVID-constrained therapy. We will briefly discuss the neurodiversity movement, with its disapproval of therapy aimed at reducing ASD symptoms.
After the webinar, participants will be able to:
1. Identify current issues that clinical neuropsychologists face when assessing individuals with ASD.
2. Discuss several new therapies and some challenges with providing COVID-constrained therapy.
3. Discuss the neurodiversity movement, with its disapproval of therapy aimed at reducing ASD symptoms.
Target Audience: Clinical Neuropsychologists
Instructional Level: Introductory to Intermediate
Deborah Fein is a clinical neuropsychologist who has been doing autism research for 40 years, at Boston University School of Medicine and, for the last 30 years, at the University of Connecticut. She is currently Board of Trustees Distinguished Professor in the Department of Psychological Research and the Department of Pediatrics. Her research has been supported by several NIH institutes, by the March of Dimes, Maternal Child and Health Bureau, and the National Association for Autism Research. She has investigated numerous areas in autism, including peptide abnormalities, brainstem evoked potentials, language and memory, estimating and other cognitive skills, sensory abnormalities, early detection, theoretical issues concerning diagnosis, and outcomes in autism. She is the author of a recent book for teachers, “Autism in Your Classroom” and is the co-author of the widely used “Modified Checklist for Autism in Toddlers”, as well as a book for parents, “Activity Kit for Babies and Toddlers at Risk”. She served on the Board of Directors of the American Association for Clinical Neuropsychology, on the Science Advisory Board of Autism Speaks, as Associate Editor of the journal Neuropsychology, and was Secretary of the International Society for Autism Research.
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