Agenda

Scott Bellini, PhD, Indiana Resource Center
Building Social Relationships: A Systematic Approach to Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children and Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum (Part 1)
The workshop will provide an overview of a social skill instructional model developed by Dr. Bellini. The workshop integrates research on social-emotional functioning with effective strategies for teaching social skills to children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). The five-step model provides a systematic and comprehensive framework to guide parents and practitioners in the development and implementation of social skills programming.

Amy Puls, RD, LD, CPT & Kathy Soland, MS, CCC-SLP
Fun, Food, and Family - Mealtime Makeovers for Families with Autistic Children
Fun, Food, and Family will review the latest methods in getting children with autism to eat and help families enjoy sharing mealtimes with their children.  Current methods that will be reviewed include best practices in feeding therapy, current literature review on efficacy of special diets, innovative education tactics used to teach mealtime behavior.  This presentation is designed to bring current research and best practices in nutrition, therapy and education right to your kitchen table.

Kim Cornman, MA, BCBA 
It's Potty Time! Toilet Training for Children with Autism 
Effective strategies for toilet training children with autism will be discussed, including two different approaches and real life examples.

Rebecca Palmer
Guardianship: What Is It and Do I Really Need It?
Many families struggle with the question of whether or not they need to establish guardianship of their adult family member with a developmental disability. During this session you will be provided information and resources to help you understand what guardianship is, determine if you need it, and know the alternatives to guardianship that might work for you.

Concurrent Session 1e (to be announced)

Concurrent Session 1f (to be announced)

Paula Kluth, PhD
Just Give Them the Whale: Using Passions, Areas of Expertise, and Strengths to Support Students with Autism
Too often, the passions or favorites of students with autism are seen as problematic. In this presentation, Dr. Kluth will explore how honoring fascinations and using them as tools can help teachers calm, comfort, teach, inspire, and connect with their students with autism labels.

Scott Bellini, PhD, Indiana Resource Center
Building Social Relationships: A Systematic Approach to Teaching Social Interaction Skills to Children and Adolescents on the Autism Spectrum (Part 2)

Suzanne Taylor, BCBA
Treating Challenging Behavior in the Classroom Using Behavior Analytic Methods
This workshop will focus on the occurrence of various forms and functions of problem behavior occurring in public classrooms, by using direct observations to obtain baseline data, then conducting a functional analysis to determine the function (or consequence) maintaining the problem behavior.

Tara Warwick, OTR/L
Expanding the diets of individuals with high functioning autism through the use of visual supports and positive reinforcement: A case study of a 10-year old with high functioning autism.
This workshop focuses on a case study of a ten year old with high functioning autism and feeding issues. The workshop will discuss the strategies used to increase the overall diet. The feeding program used focused on visual supports and positive reinforcement. The participants will leave with an understanding of the feeding program and ideas on how to incorporate strategies into their environment.

Kim Osmani, Transition Coordinator, Department of Rehabilitation Services 
How We Do What We Do: Transition at DRS
Transition is a focus at the national level, especially on post-school outcomes. DRS is committed to providing services to youth with disabilities as they make the transition from high school to post-school activities and has made this a focus at a state and local level. This session will give an overview of services provided by DRS, initiatives we are implementing, and our involvement in hosting the annual Oklahoma Transition Institute. If you have youth with disabilities reaching the age of 16, this session is for you!

Concurrent Session 2e (to be announced)

Scott Bellini, PhD, Indiana Resource Center,
Video Modeling and Video Self-Modeling: Using New Approaches to Solve Old Problems 
The complexities of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have challenged parents, practitioners, and researchers for over a half-century. During this time, parents and practitioners have struggled to effectively address the behavioral, social, emotional, and communication needs of children with ASD. This workshop will cover two effective, research-based strategies to address these critical needs: video modeling and video self-modeling (VSM). This workshop will examine the research on video modeling and VSM, and discuss the why these strategies are particularly beneficial to children on the spectrum. Numerous examples of how to implement these interventions with children on the autism spectrum in school, home, and community settings will be covered.

Dena Pinson, PhD
Work, Play, Relate: Skills to Thrive
This seminar will demonstrate approaches to Storyboarding as a tool to create life opportunities actively using the interests and talents of those on the Autism Spectrum. Individuals, families, teachers, employers, and health professionals have successfully applied the words ‘Storyboard it' to advocate for the unique lives of those with AS. Our goal is to present a simple tool to enhance the lives of children, adolescents and young adults to emerge with skills in the areas of work, play, relationships, education, and self-advocacy.

Rachel Ottley, OTR/L, Cheryl LaFortune, MA, CCC-SLP,  & Lisa Fitzgibbons, PhD
Connecting with your child the DIR-way - Early Intervention that Promotes Social and Emotional Development
Come and gain practical knowledge and experience of techniques used to facilitate the development of relating, communicating, and thinking capacities in the young child. Videos will be presented during the workshop to illustrate how supported play, through the three-part DIR Model and Floortime approach draws the child into a deeper relationship, strengthening the development of the core emotional capacities. The developmental activities will give you a first hand look at joy and how social relationships motivate and convey the potential for flexible and creative organization and learning in the developing child.

Concurrent Session 3d (to be announced)

Concurrent Session 3e (to be announced)

Doreen Granpeesheh, PhD, BCBA

Sue Hoppe, PhD 
Modifying ABA for Use in the Classroom
Research findings from recent research projects using ABA discrete trial teaching as part of instruction for children with autism is presented. Discrete trial teaching is effective and compatible with other strategies implemented in classroom routines and encourages the learning of language for children with ASD. Workshop includes a powerpoint of results and videos demonstrating the process used.

James Rand, PhD & J. Thomas Curtis, PhD
What Can We Learn About Autism by Studying Animals? 
Although many areas of autism research clearly require the use of human subjects, important contributions to autism research have also been made through the study of simple model organisms. These models include mice, zebrafish, fruitflies, and nematodes (roundworms), and even though the nervous systems of these animals are such simpler than that of a human, the cellular, chemical, and electrical properties of the nerve cells from different animals are virtually identical to those of human nerve cells. The use of simple animal models therefore greatly increases the efficiency with which we can investigate basic biological processes, such as the chemical communication between nerve cells, the development of specific neural circuits, and the ways in which such circuits can be modified through the animals' experience. In this workshop the speakers will explain how the use of simple animal models has led to a better understanding of how nerve cells and nervous systems normally function, and the ways in which they can mis-function.

Dr. Fuchs
GI Disorders in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Kelli Marshall, MS, CCC-SLP
Building a Social Skills Group for School Age Children (8-12 years) with AS or HFA
This session will describe the development of a social skill group for school age children (8-12 years) with Asperger Syndrome and High Functioning Autism. A variety of training strategies will be shared as well as creative ideas developed by group members themselves.

Concurrent Session 4f (to be announced)

Peter Gerhardt, PhD, Organization for Autism Research 
Adaptive Behavior and Individuals on the Autism Spectrum: Notes from the Forgotten Frontier
Adaptive Behavior is defined as those skills or abilities that enable the individual to meet standards of personal independence and responsibility would be expected of his or her age and social group. But despite the fact that adult outcomes can, in no small part, be seen be seen as a function of adaptive behavior very little clinical or research attention is paid to this critically important cohort of skills. This may be due to adaptive behavior deficits not being considered part of the triad of diagnostic characteristics (e.g. communication, social competencies, idiosyncratic behavior) in autism. This workshop will provide an overview of current research on adaptive behavior and discuss implications for both classroom and community-based instruction.

Doreen Granpeesheh, PhD, BCBA

Terry Dennison 
Parents & Puberty: A Survival Guide
Youth living with autism spectrum disorders are sexual people who have special needs for accurate, understandable sexual information, and the skills with which they can make responsible choices in their daily lives. This presentation will help parents play a key role in facilitating their children's learning about sexual feelings, appropriate expression of these feelings, the changes of puberty, and lessening the fears and anxieties (for kids and their parents!) that these transitions can bring.

Dr. Fuchs
GI Disorders in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Concurrent Session 5c (to be announced)

Concurrent Session 5d (to be announced)

Nancy Champlin, BCBA
A Behavioral Approach to Teach Developmental Play Skills to Children with Autism
This workshop will focus on the developmental sequences of cognitive and social play. Participants will learn behavioral procedures to teach symbolic play skills, including the use of total task presentation, script fading, and response generalization. Participants will learn the importance of teaching play skills, how to incorporate play within daily classroom routine, and data collection procedures to monitor progress.

Kelly Hawkins, MS, CCC-SLP
Social Language Groups: Supported Social Interaction for Students with Social Language Impairments
This presentation is designed to discuss the importance of social language groups as part of a well-balanced social language/pragmatic therapy program. Participants will also be presented with a variety of social language models that can be adapted for a variety of service settings.

Joy Lauffenburger & Melinda Lauffenburger
The Lauffenburgers and Goldie: The Miracle Basenji
This presentation describes how one family leveraged their child's interest in their dog, Goldie, to achieve success as a family. The program includes an overview of Joy's diagnosis as a child and where she is today, a successful high school student. Joy identifies some of the most significant challenges she has faced with autism and how her dog, Goldie, helps her overcome challenges. The presentation also includes a summary of how Joy's relationship with Goldie has matured and how it has facilitated social and relational skills.

Concurrent Session 6d (to be announced)