PLENARY SESSIONS

Plenary 1. History, Screening, Assessment and Diagnosis 

LAURA KLINGER


Plenary 2. Medical and Co-morbid features of Autism

 MARGARET BAUMAN

 

Plenary 3. Early Identification of Autism

SALLY ROGERS

Recent prospective longitudinal studies of high risk infants who go on to develop autism have challenged many of our ideas about the onset, symptoms, and course of early autism. This presentation will present the most recent findings from these studies, including the patterns of development that are present in early infancy, the varied patterns of onset that appear, and the unexpected developmental profiles that unfold in the 6-36 month age period. Implications for early screening and diagnosis efforts will be discussed.  

 

Plenary 4. Diagnosis and Evidence-based Treatment of Adolescents and Adults with Autism

GARY MESIBOV

 

Plenary 5: The Genetics of Autism                                    

BRETT ABRAHAMS     

 

Plenary 6: The Neurobiology of Autism

DAVID AMARAL

 

Plenary 7: The Epidemiology of ASIAN Autism

YOUNG SHIN KIM

 

Plenary 8: Social and Neurocognitive Development in Autism 

 PETER MUNDY                     

To the best of our current understanding autism is a disorder that involves two types of developmental impairments. One is a disturbance of functional neural connectivity in the brain and the other is the early onset of disturbances in social attention and behavior. One way to understand some of the important connections between problems in neural network connectivity and social impairments is to understand the role of joint attention in the development of autism. At its most basic, joint attention involves the capacity to coordinate one’s own visual attention with that of another person. One type of infant joint attention behavior involves directing other peoples’ attention to objects or events of interest to them.  In research this is called a deficit in initiating joint attention (IJA). Children with autism often display a robust disturbance of IJA and in diagnosis we refer to this as; “lack of spontaneously sharing experience with other people by using showing, pointing or eye contact” (ICD-10; DSN-IV). Recent theory and research suggests that IJA may be unique to human beings and involves the development of an integrated brain network of the frontal and parietal cortical systems. This network first serves to regulate the capacity of infants to share experience with others through the social coordination of visual attention.  Activation of this distributed network during coordinated attention enhances to social information processing, encoding and learning in the first years of life.  It also is likely that, with practice, joint attention becomes internalized as al capacity to socially coordinate mental attention to internal, cognitive representations. As this occurs, the joint attention neural network makes vital contributions to the development of human symbolic thinking and social cognition. Conversely its impairment contributes to the symbolic and social cognitive deficits that often characterize the development of people with autism. This new theory of neural networks and joint attention may assist us to better visualize the neurodevelopment of autism in ways that improve our current understanding of both the etiology and effective treatment of this disorder.

 

Plenary 9:  Language of Autism

Helen Tager-Flusberg                                        

 

Plenary Session 10: Behavioral Management of Autism Across Settings

Laura Schreibman 

Behavioral issues are pervasive problems in individuals of all age groups and functional abilities on the autism spectrum.  This session will describe the behavioral approach to intervention with children with autism.  The behavioral perspective will be briefly described followed by a description of the various principles that can be applied to the teaching of new skills and the management of disruptive behaviors.    Specifics of implementing a treatment plan will be presented.

 

Plenary 11:   Social Skills Training in Autism

NIRIT BAUMIINGER            

 

Plenary 12:  AUTISM SPEAKS PRESENTATION:

Dr. Andy Shih, Mr. Michael Rosanoff, Ms.Dana Marnane

The Global Autism Public Health Initiative

Autism Speaks is the world’s largest autism science and advocacy organization.  Its mission is to fund research into the causes, prevention, treatments and a cure for autism; increase awareness of autism spectrum disorders; and advocate for the needs of individuals with autism and their families.  Officially designated a non-governmental organization (NGO) associated with the United Nations Department of Public Information (DPI), the first and only such organization devoted to autism, Autism Speaks is able to reach a global audience in its efforts to promote the dignity, equal rights, social progress and better standards of life for individuals with autism. In 2008, Autism Speaks launched the Global Autism Public Health Initiative (GAPH), an ambitious international advocacy effort designed to help countries around the world: (1) enhance public and professional awareness of autism; (2) facilitate research, including research that informs public health policy (e.g. autism prevalence); and (3) build capacity for autism services, especially in early detection and intervention.  Through GAPH, Autism Speaks has already established partnerships with local governments, professionals, and parents in Central and South America, the Middle East, Eastern and Western Europe, South Asia, Africa, and the Pacific Rim.  The International Autism Conference (IAC) will serve as the launching pad for GAPH-Philippines, calling attention to the unmet needs of the Filipino autism community and developing a strategic, evidence-based approach to improving the lives of all those affected by autism in the country.