The first workshop of the FCP 2015 Series is presented by Connor Morrow Kerns, Ph.D., entitled “Assessment and Treatment of Anxiety Disorders in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.”

This informative presentation focuses on how to adapt cognitive behavioral approaches to treat anxiety disorders in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD).

Comorbid anxiety is a common, detrimental issue in youth with ASD that can nonetheless be difficult to assess. This presentation will consider how to assess traditional and atypical presentations of anxiety in ASD and modify cognitive-behavioral approaches to treat these symptoms in higher-functioning children with ASD.

Dr. Kerns is an assistant research professor at the A.J. Drexel Autism Institute. She has conducted and published studies on broad array of topics including the role of paternal age in ASD risk, the co-occurrence of childhood psychopathologies, and differential predictors of CBT efficacy for child anxiety. Her present research focuses on the overlap, assessment and treatment of anxiety and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Her ongoing projects aim to explore the varied presentation and phenomenology of anxiety in ASD and the implications of this variation for effective anxiety measurement and treatment.

Dr. Kerns is also preparing to extend this work to the understudied area of traumatic events and their sequelae in youth with ASD. She received her masters and doctoral degrees in clinical psychology from Temple University and completed her predoctoral internship in pediatric psychology at A. I. DuPont Hospital for Children.
Please participate in this workshop and join the continuing conversation with the Blog.
As usual, the Workshop will be held at the Health & Wellness Center Auditorium, 847 Easton Rd., Warrington, PA 18976 from 8:30 AM – 12:00 PM