Systems of Care & Best Practices in the Treatment & Support of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Kirsten Murphy, Executive Director, ARCH of the Upper Valley, Inc and Administrative Director, NH Council on Autism Spectrum Disorders will be presenting. The workshops are designed to give parents, other
caregivers and professionals "the big picture". Maps and other visual
representations are used as templates to organize the wide range of information
that family caregivers typically amass in piecemeal fashion as they move through
the stages of their child's development and their own journey with ASD. It's an
excellent opportunity for professionals to see the journey that families
travel.

Systems of Care & Best Practices in the Treatment & Support of Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD)

Parents and other caregivers who support a child with ASD interact with many different professionals and systems of care. Typically parents are the only "glue" holding this web of supports and services together.
Understanding the values, vocabulary and perspective of each is crucial in
successfully maximizing the benefits that each systems can provide and in
maintaining consistency across systems. This workshop maps the three major
systems of care - medical, educational and human services - and describes the
resources available through each. Care paths are presented to help parents
anticipate what lies ahead and how to obtain necessary
resources.

The second half of the workshop will be focused on best practices. According to the Interactive Autism Network at Kennedy Krieger, parents use and average of five separate treatment modalities at any given time
to assist their child with ASD. Education, medicine, and human services
increasingly speak of "best" or "evidence based" practices in the supports that
they provide. What are these practices and by what standard have they been
measured? This workshop provides parents with an overview of the main types of
treatment and intervention and considers the advantages and disadvantages of
each. We conclude with a series of questions that parents can use in working
with their providers to select approaches that best fit their child's
needs.

Date: April 21, 2010

Location: Immaculate Conception

Gathering Room

216 East Dunstable Road

Nashua, NH 03062

Time: 6:00 - 7:30

Please contact JoAnn Sheehan at (603) 459-2758 or jsheehan@gatewayscs.org to RSVP.