Adults with Autism: Challenges and Opportunities

Sponsored by Southern Connecticut State University’s Center of Excellence on Autism Spectrum Disorders

Join us for a series of two-hour live online workshops featuring international experts on Adults with Autism. These workshops are intended for anyone who works with or supports adults with autism: academics, clinicians, educators, employers, nonprofits, students, families, and more!

  • All sessions will be held on Saturdays from 2:00 to 4:00 PM EST.
  • Training is $45 per session. 
  • Organizations are encouraged to purchase a seat and have a "watch party" with multiple employees!
  • All registrants will earn a digital credential to share on a resume and social media. Microcredential will reflect .02 CEUs per session.

Register

autism symbol


October 19, 2024

  • Adults with Autism: An Overview and Late-stage Diagnosis- Fred Volkmar M.D., SCSU
  • Legal Issues and Bullying – Marc Woodbury-Smith, M.B., M.D., Ph.D. and Fred Volkmar MD, SCSU

Fred Volkmar, MD, is the Dorothy Goodwin Family Chair in Special Education at Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, and the Irving B Harris Professor Emeritus at Yale University's Child Study Center. The author of several hundred articles and numerous books, he has a long-standing interest in outcomes and mental health issues in adults with autism. To view his LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/fred-volkmar-840b9777

Marc Woodbury-Smith is a Clinical Senior Lecturer in the Biosciences Institute at Newcastle University, UK, and an Honorary Consultant Psychiatrist. He trained in psychiatry in Cambridge, UK and at the Yale Child Study Center, USA and undertook training in genetic epidemiology and statistical genetics in Toronto (STAGE program). As a psychiatrist specializing in developmental disabilities, he has worked clinically with children and adults with intellectual disability (ID) autism spectrum disorder (ASD) for many years as well as undertaking research on both its genetic underpinning and forensic characteristics. He has undertaken funded research on different aspects of forensics as applied to neurodevelopmental disabilities, as well as written widely on this topic. 


October 26, 2024

  • Behavioral Supports for Adults – Mark Palmieri, Psy.D., CT Center for Children with Special Needs
  • Sound Sensitivity & Challenging Listening Environments – Distinguishing Signal and Noise, Peter A. Wasiuk, Au.D., Ph.D., CCC-A

Mark Palmieri is a licensed psychologist, a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and the Co-Director of The Center for Children with Special Needs (CCSN). He leads capacity development initiatives that establish sustainable educational, life, and community programs for individuals with Autism and other complex neurodevelopmental disabilities. Additionally, he is currently leading project development throughout CCSN to expand clinical services to increase access to high-quality evidence-based practices throughout the community.  Dr. Palmieri’s areas of clinical focus include outpatient psychotherapy, specialized treatments for feeding and sleep, diagnostics, as well as program development for community-based clinical and educational services.  Dr. Palmieri is also an Assistant Clinical Professor of Psychology at the Yale Child Study Center, Yale University School of Medicine.  He has lectured both nationally and internationally on topics such as behavioral assessment and treatment planning, consultation and program development, and the treatment of feeding and other complex behavioral disorders.

Peter A. Wasiuk is an Assistant Professor and audiologist at Southern Connecticut State University in New Haven, CT, and is the director of the Owl Auditory-Cognitive Science Laboratory. His research interests include exploring the way that individuals perceive, comprehend, and remember spoken language heard in challenging listening environments, with current projects focused on the listening experiences of autistic adults. Please follow the link to learn more about his current work on autism and listening: https://www.auditory-cognitive-science.com/contact 


November 2, 2024

  • Medical and Mental Health Issues for Adults – Fred Volkmar M.D., SCSU
  • Psychotherapeutics Approaches to Anxiety and Depression - Susan White, Ph.D. University of Alabama

Susan White is Professor and Doddridge Saxon Chair in Clinical Psychology at The University of Alabama, where she directs the Center for Youth Development and Intervention (CYDI). Her research spans multiple areas in developmental psychopathology, with a primary focus on mechanism-driven intervention for co-occurring and core problems in autism.

Fred R. Volkmar, MD, is the Dorothy Goodwin Family Chair in Special Education at Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven, CT, and the Irving B Harris Professor Emeritus at Yale University's Child Study Center. The author of several hundred articles and numerous books, he has a long-standing interest in outcomes and mental health issues in adults with autism. To view his LinkedIn Profile: www.linkedin.com/in/fred-volkmar-840b9777


January 25, 2025

  • Recreational Supports and Leisure Activities - Mary Jo Archambault, CTRS, Ed.D., SCSU
  • Autism and Dating – John Miller, Author of Decoding Dating

MaryJo Archambault has been working with individuals with disabilities for over 30 years. She is a certified therapeutic recreation specialist and currently oversees the undergraduate and graduate programs in recreation therapy at Southern Connecticut State University (SCSU). She is one of the founders of the Institute for Adapted Sports and Recreation located at SCSU. The Institute provides a variety of adaptive recreation and recreational therapy groups to individuals with disabilities living in the community.

John Miller, the author of Decoding Dating, has taught students with degrees of ASD for over two decades.  He has done training and presentations throughout North America (and Europe). He brings a unique perspective of being an educator in the field of autism and living with ASD.


February 1, 2025

  • Technological Supports - Bo Zamfir, Ed.D., SCSU
  • Vocational Supports – Peter Gerhard, Ph.D.

Peter Gerhardt has more than 30 years of experience utilizing the principles of Applied Behavior Analysis in support of individuals with autism spectrum disorders in educational, employment, residential, and community-based settings. Dr. Gerhardt is the author or the coauthor of many articles and book chapters on the needs of adolescents and adults with ASDs and has presented nationally and internationally on this topic.

Bogdan Zamfir directs the Center for Educational and Assistive Technology at Southern Connecticut State University and teaches as an adjunct faculty member in the Special Education Department. He has over 20 years of experience working with assistive technology, including technology that supports individuals with ASD. 


February 8, 2025

  • Fostering Social Skills – Elizabeth Laugeson, Ph.D, UCLA
  • Romantic Relationships - Lynn Koegel, Ph.D., Stanford University

Lynn Koegel is a clinical professor at the Stanford University School of Medicine. She and her husband developed Pivotal Response Treatment, which focuses on motivating individuals with autism. The Koegels have received numerous awards for their work, including the Children’s Television Workshop and Sesame Street Parents' “Sunny Days Award” for “Brightening the Lives of Children.” Dr. Lynn Koegel appeared on the hit show Supernanny, working with a child with autism. She has published well over 125 scientific articles and chapters and 8 books. She is currently the Editor-in-Chief of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.

Elizabeth Laugeson is a Clinical Professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior and is a licensed clinical psychologist. Dr. Laugeson is the Director of the UCLA Tarjan Center, University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disabilities, and the Founder and Director of the UCLA PEERS Clinic, an outpatient hospital-based program providing parent-assisted social skills training for individuals from preschool to adulthood. She also serves as the Program Director for the Predoctoral Psychology Internship Program in Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities at UCLA. Dr. Laugeson has trained tens of thousands of mental health professionals, educators, and families worldwide and is dedicated to developing and testing evidence-based treatments to improve social skills across the lifespan and the globe. As one of the only empirically supported and internationally recognized social skills programs for neurodivergent youth, her program is currently used in over 150 countries and has been translated into over a dozen languages.