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7845 AUTISM AND TRAUMA: A MULTI-DISCIPLINARY PANEL DISCUSSION


Thursday, July 9, 2015: 11:00 AM-12:15 PM
Room Number: 201 (Colorado Convention Center)
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This multi-disciplinary panel presents a discussion on how trauma experiences affect people with autism and why assessments and support methods must be developed to disrupt the systems and situations that place individuals at risk of trauma events. The panel includes people with autism, researchers, family members, therapists, spiritual care practitioners. This multi-disciplinary panel presents an engaging discussion on how trauma experiences affect people with autism and why assessments and support methods must be developed to disrupt the systems and situations that place autistic individuals at risk of trauma events. The panel includes people with autism, researchers, family members, therapists, and spiritual care practitioners. Following an overview of current research, panelists offer brief presenations on the major types of trauma experienced by people with autism: betrayal-based trauma, systems-based trauma and sensory-based trauma. Emphasis is placed on the diversity of perspectives found in the family, in counseling, and in the services and education sectors. Clips from the feature video "Trauma Warriors" will be screened to illustrate the effects of trauma on children and adults with autism. The discussion ends with a look at future directions for research in this arena, followed by Q&A.

Learning Objectives:

  • Discover the effects of trauma on individuals with autism, parents and providers
  • Describe three major types of trauma experienced by persons with autism: betrayal-based trauma, systems-based trauma, sensory-based trauma
  • Examine current research on trauma and future directions for that research

Content Area: Behavior Issues and Supports

Presenters:

Valerie Paradiz, Ph.D.
Executive Director, Autistic Global Initiative
Autism Research Institute

Valerie Paradiz, Ph.D., directs the Autistic Global Initiative of the Autism Research Institute and serves as curriculum specialist at First Place Arizona, a community-based housing option for adults with autism and young adults in transition. Valerie is an NGO representative to the United Nations.

Xenia Grant, B.A.
Facilitator
Denver GRASP chapter

Xenia Grant was diagnosed with High Functioning Autism at the JFK Center for Developmental Disabilities in 2001. She currently works for Goodwill Industries, and has been involved in the autism community in Denver for seventeen years. She has spoken on autism in over 10 states and two Canadian provinces. She is originally from St. Louis and moved to Denver in 1997. She is the facilitator for the Denver GRASP chapter.

Connor M. Kerns, Ph.D.
Assistant Research Professor
AJ Drexel Autism Institute

Dr. Kerns is clinical psychologist and Assistant Research Professor at the AJ Drexel Autism Institute of Drexel University. Her expertise is in the overlap, assessment and treatment of ASD and emotional disorders.

Nadyne Guzmán, Ph.D.
Spiritual Care Fellow
JFK Partners

Dr. Nadyne Guzmán is a retired Professor of Leadership at UC Colorado Springs and now a student at Iliff School of Theology in Denver. She is currently serving as Spiritual Care Fellow for JFK Partners at UC Denver Medical Campus, a program that serves individuals with neurodevelopmental disabilities and their families.

Dena Gassner, Ph.D., student
Director Center for Understanding
Dena Gassner

Dena is the Director of the Center for Understanding, providing training and information worldwide. Boards for the Arc US, GRASP and the Autism Society benefit from her unique expertise. Wife, mother and non-traditional Ph.D. student at Adelphi University, she's living an authentic life including--not separate from--her own autistic identity.