The PEERS® Curriculum for School-Based Professionals brings UCLA's highly acclaimed and widely popular PEERS program into the school setting. This sixteen-week program, clinically proven to significantly improve social skills and social interactions among teens with autism spectrum disorder, is now customized for the needs of psychologists, counselors, speech pathologists, administrators, and teachers. The manual is broken down into clearly divided lesson plans, each of which have concrete rules and steps, corresponding homework assignments, plans for review, and unique, fun activities to ensure that teens are comfortable incorporating what they've learned. The curriculum also includes parent handouts, tips for preparing for each lesson, strategies for overcoming potential pitfalls, and the research underlying this transformative program.

The research on children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is extensive and growing. Although these conditions are recognized as affecting the entire lifespan, the literature on ASD after childhood is limited and has not been brought together in a single volume in over a decade. Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders fills this knowledge gap by focusing on needs and difficulties unique to these stages of development. Expert contributors offer cogent reviews of complex issues, from education to employment, leisure activities to illegal behaviors, mental health issues to medical health concerns. The latest findings in key areas, such as psychosocial and residential treatments, social skills programs, epidemiology, the impact of ASD on families, are examined in detail. Throughout the volume, coverage focuses on areas requiring improved models of assessment, updated data, new interventions and increased support services. Featured topics include: Transition from high school to adulthood for adolescents and young adults with ASD. Innovative programming to support college students with ASD. Romantic relationships, sexuality and ASD. Treatment of mental health comorbidities. Assessment and treatment planning in adults with ASD. The range of outcomes and challenges in middle and later life. Adolescents and Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders is a must-have reference for a wide range of clinicians and practitioners – as well as researchers and graduate students – in clinical child, school and developmental psychology; child and adolescent psychiatry; social work; rehabilitation medicine/therapy; education and general practice/family medicine. It will also serve as an important resource for parents and caregivers with its focus on translating the current state of knowledge relevant to understanding adolescents and adults with ASD into practical and relevant recommendations on how best to support them.

This handbook identifies the various social deficiencies widely associated with children and youth diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It discusses possible causes as well as the lifelong effects if these deficiencies are not addressed. The handbook presents current behavioral and curriculum-based methods for assessing social deficits. Chapters examine the various interventions that have been used to improve social skills and behavior, including video modeling, peer-mediated interventions, and script fading. Chapters also assess various interventions using empirically based procedures, evaluate the research of each of these procedures, provide guidelines for treatment planning, and offer clinical recommendations. The handbook concludes with future directions for the development of both social behavior and clinical social skills interventions. Topics featured in the Handbook include: Impairments in social behavior that may result in negative outcomes such as depression, loneliness, and suicide in individuals with ASD. Bullying among youth with ASD. Behavioral skills training to promote social behavior of individuals with ASD. The Early Start Denver Model approach to helping young children with ASD. The implementation of social skills groups for individuals diagnosed with ASD. The Handbook of Social Skills and Autism Spectrum Disorder is a must-have resource for researchers, clinicians/professionals, and graduate students in clinical child, school, and developmental psychology, behavioral therapy, and social work, as well as such interrelated disciplines as child and adolescent psychiatry, rehabilitation medicine/therapy, pediatrics, and special education/educational psychology.

Session 1. Trading information and starting conversations -- session 2. Trading information and maintaining conversations -- session 3. Finding a source of friends -- session 4. Electronic communication -- session 5. Appropriate use of humor -- session 6. Entering group conversations -- session 7. Exiting conversations -- session 8. Get-togethers -- session 9. Dating etiquette : letting someone know you like them -- session 10. Dating etiquette : asking someone on a date -- session 11. Dating etiquette : going on dates -- session 12. Dating etiquette : dating do's and don'ts -- session 13. Handling disagreements -- session 14. Handling direct bullying -- session 15. Handling indirect bullying -- session 16. Moving forward and graduation.

Social skills are critical to psychological adjustment across the lifespan. These skills are necessary for attaining a variety of important social, emotional, and interpersonal goals. Social skill definits and resulting negative social interactions are associated with a wide variety of adjustment problems and psychological disorders. Social Skills across the Life Span: Theory is a comprehensive social skills volume providing in-depth coverage of theory, assessment, and intervention. Divided into three major sections, the volume begins with the definition of social competence, developmental factors, and relations to adjustment. This is followed by coverage of general assessment and intervention issues across the lifespan. In the third section, program developers describe specific evidence-based interventions. - Identifies how social skills influence social competence and well being - Addresses the full lifespan - Reviews methods to assess and intervene with children and adults - Details evidence-based interventions for children and adults

This concise, yet practical handbook will aid in supporting the diagnosis, treatment, and long-term management of autism, including behavioral therapies, current clinical trials, and emerging pharmaceutical treatments. Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a developmental disorder characterised by disturbance in language, perception, and social skills that affects an estimated 1–2 per 1,000 people worldwide (although the number is as high as 20 per 1000 in the US). While studies have suggested a disturbance in neural metabolism in patients with ADS, the exact cause of the ASD still remains unknown. In 2013, a single indication of ASD, which united several related conditions (ie, classical autism, Asperger’s syndrome, Fragile X Syndrome, Landau-Kleffner Syndrome, Rett syndrome, childhood disintegrative disorder, and PDD-NOS), was included in the fifth edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mood Disorders for the first time in order to support more standardized diagnoses.

This book is a comprehensive resource to guide work with individuals on the autism spectrum. It reflects the true range of needs presented by individuals with autism, pulling together the most salient aspects of treatment with invaluable information from several disciplines synthesized to guide your work. Divided into topical sections with chapters from three field experts in each, this book features contributions from therapists, educators, and medical doctors, as well as financial planners, health advocates, and innovators. The diverse disciplines and backgrounds of each author lend a different voice and perspective to each chapter, reflecting the continuum of care necessary when working with clientele on the autism spectrum, and that, for clients on the spectrum, one solution does not fit all. For use by psychotherapists, counselors, applied behavioral analysts, occupational therapists, social workers, teachers, and more, this text presents readers with expertise from various contributing disciplines to give them a treatment resource that can inform and guide their daily work with clients on the autism spectrum.

This handbook addresses behavior problems and mental health disorders in persons with intellectual disabilities. It provides an overview of the history of dual diagnosis and related theories, ethics, diagnostic systems, mental health disorders, and challenging behaviors. The handbook examines general clinical issues, such as the effects of cognitive performance on the choice of assessment and treatment methods, service delivery systems, education models, risk factors, functional assessment, and structured interviews. Chapters provide a much-needed reference for practitioners and practitioners in training. The applied focus of the book continues with assessment/diagnosis sections of mental health disorders, and challenging behaviors. In addition, chapters describe treatments for discrete mental health and behavior problems, such as intellectual disabilities, severe psychopathology, autism, ADHD, substance abuse, and aggression. Topics featured in this handbook include: Genetic disorders and dual diagnosis. Assessment of anxiety in persons with dual diagnosis. Aging with intellectual disabilities. Feeding problems and assessment in individuals with dual diagnosis. Pica in individuals with intellectual disability. Treatment of social skills in dual diagnosis. The Handbook of Dual Diagnosis is an essential reference for researchers, graduate students, clinicians and related therapists and professionals in clinical child and school psychology, child and adolescent psychiatry, social work, developmental psychology, behavioral therapy/rehabilitation, pediatrics, and special education.

Many therapeutic interventions for autism spectrum disorder fail when they are examined in a clinical trial. Frequently, there is a subset of patients that responds very well to the intervention, while others do not, and the overall result does not yield a positive result. As autism spectrum disorder is highly heterogeneous in its underlying genetics and other etiological risk factors, as well as its heterogeneous phenotypic manifestation, this variability in response to any specific treatment is not entirely surprising. However, it remains a challenge to meaningfully subtype this heterogeneity for targeted treatment. The purpose of this research topic is to solicit articles that address the heterogeneity in autism spectrum disorder in a manner that may meaningfully contribute to targeted treatment approaches. Studies that address the heterogeneity of autism that could theoretically lead to targeted treatment, and studies that more directly address the use of a marker in association with response to a treatment, are both aspects that will contribute to this purpose. It is hoped that this Research Topic will yield articles that can help advance the field towards precision medicine in autism spectrum disorders. Manuscripts that contribute to the specification of the heterogeneity of autism spectrum disorder in a manner that could theoretically lead to targeted treatment would be appropriate for this research topic. Additionally, articles that utilize subtyping in relation to response to treatment would be appropriate for this research topic.

Research-Based Practical Strategies for Every Teacher Imagine you’re sitting at a table surrounded by superstars in secondary education — experienced educators who have made outstanding contributions to the field. And they’re all eager to share with you what does – and what does not - work with students today. What Works in Secondary Education compiles the advice of experts who not only know the theory behind certain educational practices, but have also spent time working in the secondary classroom – making this experience available to you at any time. In each user-friendly chapter, key information on a topic vital to secondary educators is boiled down and presented in a straightforward way. Whether you’re a new educator, or just seeking to build new skills, you’ll benefit from Insight into a handful of innovative topics in instruction; including using technology, UDL, co-teaching, and assessment Novel approaches for classroom management and strategies to engage students Chapters focused on effective methods for teaching within content areas Practical tips for reaching all learners; including ELLs, students with autism, and gifted students Useful reproducibles and resources for every topic area Never before has so much valuable information been presented so simply and effectively in one resource. Are you ready to focus on what works best?