On Wednesday, March 4th , Foundations Community Partnership will provide the first Behavioral Health Workshop for this Spring entitled “Non-Social Features of Autism: Identifying Neural Mechanisms and Treatments for Improving Outcomes.”

This informative presentation will cover the non-social features of autism, including a review of the neural mechanisms that are currently known to influence the severity of repetitive behaviors in ASD, as well as common co-occurring psychiatric conditions (ADHD, anxiety). Dr. Yerys will also describe recent neuropsychological findings and common assessment tools in ASD, as well as discuss the newer treatments to address non-social features of ASD, including school-based treatment.

Workshop Objectives At the end of this activity the learner will be able to:

• Describe the neural circuits that are implicated in repetitive behaviors and co-occurring ADHD symptoms in ASD
• Identify limitations of cognitive assessment as a diagnostic indicator for ASD
• Name the key elements of regulatory scripts to support flexible thinking and behavior in youth with ASD

Presenter: Benjamin E. Yerys, Ph.D., is a psychologist in the Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences and a child psychologist in the Center for Autism Research (CAR) at The Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. Dr. Yerys conducts evaluations for children and adolescents and leads CAR’s research on the brain basis and treatment of attention and executive function. He has published extensively on the presence of executive function impairments in children with ASD, and how they relate to core repetitive behavior symptoms of ASD or common co-occurring disorders like ADHD. Dr. Yerys’ goal is to use this information to inform or create new treatments that can be tailored specifically to the needs of individual children.

Please join us for this workshop and participate in the continuing conversation with the Blog.