NCSA 2024 Webinars
• All NCSA webinars are free, include live Q&A, and will be recorded
• Pre-registration is required for all webinars
• Details on all webinars to be announced closer to their dates; subject matter, speakers and timing are subject to change
Thursday, February 15, 2024
Autism’s Rising Rates: A Deep Dive Into 50 Years of Data
Jill Escher, Escher Fund for Autism; NCSA
Walter Zahorodny, PhD, Rutgers University
Watch the recording here
Jill’s slides here
Walter’s slides here
Autism rates among children used to be .01%, perhaps .06% under a broader definition, but today’s childhood rates are around 3%. Jill Escher details a long history of studies and data to explain why the increase for the most part represents a true increase in serious neurodevelopmental pathology, a phenomenon that should be met with utmost alarm and not resignation. Dr. Zahorodny is the lead investigator for the New Jersey autism studies under the CDC and other efforts at Rutgers and focuses on the extreme increase in autism in that region.
Wednesday, February 28, 2024 at 7-8.15pm ET
Discrimination by Design: How Policies Threaten the Most Severely Disabled
Ashley Kim, Together for Choice
Jackie Ceonzo, SNACK* NYC
Watch the recording here
There is a nationwide shortage of long term supports and services available and it disproportionately affects adults with intellectual/developmental disabilities in need of 24/7 support. The need for such housing has been ignored and gone unanswered for decades by many responsible for the well-being of this population.
While Congress expected that the ADA’s integration mandate would be interpreted in a manner that ensures that individuals who are eligible for institutional placement are able to exercise a right to community-based long-term services and supports, that expectation has not been fulfilled.
We believe that people with disabilities should have the right to choose where they live, work, and receive services that are appropriate for their needs and preferences without those responsible for making choice a reality blocking that path with red tape.
This event with Dr. Wachtel has been postponed. We will announce the rescheduled date soon.
Postponed: New date coming soon, and we will re-open registration as soon as we announce the date. If you are currently registered, you will not need to re-register.
In the meantime, we recommend the recording of a recent webinar: “Catatonia in Pediatric and Neurodiverse Populations, with Dr. Joshua Ryan Smith | TN NCSA Webinar” here
Wednesday, March 27, 2024
Seizures and Epilepsy in Severe Autism
Stephanie Morris, MD, Kennedy Krieger Institute
Epilepsy is one of the most common co-occurring medical conditions among children, adolescents, and adults with severe autism. Dr. Morris 1) defined what a seizure is and how a diagnosis of epilepsy is made, 2) reviewed how to identify possible seizures, 3) explained what to do in the event of a seizure, and 4) discussed the medical evaluation and treatment of seizures and epilepsy.
Watch the recording here
Dr. Morris’s slides here
What Can Be Covered Through My Health Plan for My Child with Severe Autism?
Karen Fessel, Mental Health & Autism Insurance Project
Dr Karen Fessel is the executive director of the Mental Health & Autism Insurance Project. She discusses what you need to know to help navigate what can be a complex system of benefits.
Watch the recording here
Behavioral Treatment for Severe Behaviors in Profound Autism
Shaji Haq, PhD, Easter Seals, Southern California
Watch the recording here
Profound Autism: When Challenging Behaviors Become Life-Threatening
Eileen Lamb, director of Social Media, Autism Speaks
Watch the recording here
Specialized Schools for Students with Severe Autism
Watch the recording here
Kennedy Krieger, a Maryland-based children’s specialty hospital has developed highly specialized educational setting for nearly 500 students with complex educational needs, with most identified with autism or multiple disabilities including autism. These students, referred and funded by local and state education agencies, require uniquely tailored programs to meet their distinct needs and manage challenging behaviors. The multi-disciplinary model emphasizes individualized and consistent instructional and behavioral strategies. The school programs serve students K to age 21, working closely with families and caregivers. The speakers will discuss school programs generally in the US, and also KK’s approach to staffing, training, and programming.
Speakers
• Dr. Aaron Parsons
• Dr. Tasha Geiger
• Kathryn Miller
• Sandi Jenkins
Watch the recording here.
Topic: Behavior Constellations – An Approach to Behavioral Presentations of Medical Issues
Ley Linder, MA, M.Ed., BCBA
Intensive Behavior Interventionist, CEO, Crescent Behavioral Health Services
As service providers, we have long been told to “think medical first” regarding behavioral issues. What exactly does this mean? The discussion will present a unique lens of viewing behavior, by examining it as a “constellation of behaviors”, and within the biopsychosocial model. Case studies will be presented for acute and chronic medical issues that were resolved using the “behavior constellation" approach.
Wednesday, August 28, 2024, 7-8.15pm ET
Topic: Autism Misunderstood: The Viral Spread of Misinformation on Social Media
Cyndi Wall, autism advocate and mother of a 33 year-old son with Profound Autism, content creator for Autism Speaks, TikTok and Instagram
Cyndi will be discussing the dark side of autism social media where money, power, and influence distorts autism information. She will be discussing the rise of professionals speaking outside of their scopes of practice, the rampant self-diagnosis movement and autism as an “identity,” as well as creators with low-support needs autism speaking for the ASD spectrum as a whole. How do we combat this harmful influence on autism information and how did the DSM5 criteria contribute to this disaster?
Watch replay here.
Wednesday, September 11, 2024, 7-8.15pm ET
Topic: Would you treat a broken tooth with Abilify?
Susanna Mierau, MD, PhD, Associate Neurologist, Division of Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital; Faculty Member, Harvard Medical School
The talk focuses on the challenges limited verbal or non-verbal adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) face getting access to medical care and strategies for addressing these needs in our community. A recent study of over 1500 adults with ASD in the Kaiser medical system revealed that nearly all medical conditions are more common in people with ASD than age- and sex-matched controls (Croen et al., 2015). Yet limited verbal or nonspeaking adults with ASD can have difficulty getting the standard of care even for common conditions in adult medical facilities. Dr. Mierau will discuss these challenges and strategies for providing adult services to this highly vulnerable patient population. This talk will focus on using a neurology lens to understand more about the brain areas that can be affected in autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and how this alters communication styles.
Watch replay here.
Thursday, September 26, 2024, TBD ET
Topic: First Responders & Autism: Linked up with LINKED
Ashley McClain, Corporal Jason Piccirillo, Dr. Monica Santos, & Amanda Dubois
LINKED–Autism Safety Project is committed to building strong partnerships between the first responder and special needs communities, ensuring that everyone has access to the support and resources they need to stay safe in emergency situations. LINKED offers resources for those with autism and their families on emergency preparedness, communication strategies, and how to interact with first responders in emergency situations. This webinar will review ways to empower individuals, their families and first responders to feel confident and prepared in times of crisis while connecting with one another.
Please register here.
October 11, 2024, TBD ET
Topic: Autism Inpatient Care
David Sergi, Hospital for Special Care, New Britain, CT
Tuesday, October 29, 2024, 1PM ET
Topic: Actions Speak Louder Than Words: Common behavioral presentations of medical conditions in people with intellectual disabilities.
Craig Escudé, MD, FAAFP, FAADM
President, IntellectAbility
Behavior is a form of communication. Adverse behaviors in people with IDD are often a way of communicating underlying pain or emotional discomfort and require a thorough evaluation for treatable underlying causes before starting a person on medication to reduce the actions. This presentation will use case studies to illustrate groups of behaviors that can point to specific underlying treatable medical causes that can improve the health and quality of life in people you support.
Please register here.
NCSA Webinar Archives
You can also find past webinars on our YouTube channel.
2024 Archive
2/28/24 Discrimination by Design: How Policies Threaten the Most Severely Disabled here
Ashley Kim, Together for Choice
Jackie Ceonzo, SNACK* NYC
2/15/24 Autism’s Rising Rates: A Deep Dive Into 50 Years of Data
Jill Escher, Escher Fund for Autism; NCSA
Walter Zahorodny, PhD, Rutgers University
Watch the recording here
Jill’s slides here
Walter’s slides here
2/8/24 The Reauthorization of the Autism CARES Act here
Alison Singer, Autism Science Foundation
Craig Snyder, IKON Consulting
2/2024 Catatonia in Pediatric and Neurodiverse Populations here
With Dr. Joshua Ryan Smith, via TN NCSA
2023 Archive
11/8/23 Autism & Psychiatry: Guide to Navigating Treatment here
With Arthur Westover, MD, UT Southwestern
10/11/23 Chasing the Intact Mind here
With Amy Lutz, PhD, University of Pennsylvania
9/13/23 Intro to State Advocacy here
With Susan Goldstein, Legis Group, FL
3/14/23 The Case for Profound Autism here
With Lee Wachtel, MD, Kennedy Krieger Institute
2022 Archive
1/11/22 The Crisis in Crisis Care here
1/27/22 Supported Financial Planning here
2/17/22 ABLE Accounts here
3/11/22 Homeless by Design here
4/14/22 After Parents Are Gone: Building a Circle of Support here
9/23/22 Autism Family Safety here
2021 Archive
2/19/21 What’s Wrong With Facilitated Communication? here
3/25/21 NCSA Policy Summit here
4/27/21 Treating Challenging or Dangerous Behaviors, Part 1: Medical Support here
5/27/21 Treating Challenging or Dangerous Behaviors, Part 2: Insurance here
6/24/21 Treating Challenging or Dangerous Behaviors, Part 3: Behavioral and Sensory Support here.
8/26/21 Transition Plans here.
10/13/21 Reforming the DSM here