Autism Symposium
Research Update and Evidence-Based Treatment Models
Time: 8:00AM - 5:00PM
Location: Neuroscience Research Building Auditorium at UCLA, Room 132 NRB
Map and parking directions.
This Continuing Education event is supported by The UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, a CME accredited provider.
This program has been approved for up to 6.5 hours of CME credits for physicians and psychologists and BBS credit for LCSWs and MFCCs/MFTs. Professional development hours for teachers also are available.
Registration fee: $140 MD or PhD; $110 All others
This full-day symposium will provide psychiatrists, physicians, psychologists, other health professionals, teachers and autism service providers an overview of the latest scientific findings about etiological factors, core deficits, early diagnosis, and innovative treatment models for children and young adults with autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Speakers will discuss evidence-based treatment programs for all developmental ages, from toddlers to middle school children to teens. Model treatments developed by UCLA research clinicians will be presented, including interventions focused on play skills, friendship and other social skills, and the role of drug therapy. A conceptual framework, highlighted by various case scenarios and consideration of community resources, will be presented on how to make a thorough assessment and comprehensive individual treatment plan. The complex role of genetics, and the concepts of phenotypes, endophenotypes and heterogeneity, in the "autisms" will be discussed. The use of brain imaging, including a focus on specific brain systems disrupted in ASD - such as reward, mirror neuron, and language-learning systems - will be presented as state-of-the-art methods for understanding and developing treatments for social communication and other core deficits in autism.
This symposium is presented by the UCLA Center for Autism Research and Treatment (CART). Since the 1950s, UCLA has played a leading role in the history of autism research. In 2003, UCLA CART was established as one of eight national centers in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) funded research initiative, Studies to Advance Autism Research and Treatment (STAART). Most recently, CART was awarded two prestigious NIH new Autism Centers of Excellence (ACE) grants, as a Center and as the lead research site in a Genetics Network project.
