Tri-State Webinar: Autism and Girls: Closing the Gender Gap

Description

There are more males than females with ASD; however, the imbalance may be exaggerated. The description of ASD, and consequently the tools used to identify ASD, are based on what ASD looks like in males. As a result, females with ASD are often not referred or are misidentified – they fall through the cracks. Unidentified/misidentified, and poorly served, their path is a difficult one. One disorder may cascade into others, such as anxiety and depression. This presentation will provide strategies and solutions for better identifying and serving females with ASD.

Learner Objectives

• Describe the self-reinforcing cycle of boys, data, and identification/diagnosis
• Describe risks that increase for girls with ASD when school teams and other professionals fail to recognize their autism

• Compare restricted interests in females with ASD to males with ASD
• Describe how “camouflaging” both helps and hurts girls on the spectrum
• Explain the role of emotional conversation skills for girls on the spectrum

Presenter Information

Ruth Aspy, Ph.D., is a licensed psychologist who specializes in transdisciplinary assessment and intervention for individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Her focus is on understanding underlying strengths and characteristics of those with ASD and designing supports and strategies with their neurological/brain differences in mind.  She also has an emphasis in working with individuals with ASD who have symptoms of catatonia. She is co-author of a comprehensive model of intervention, The Ziggurat Model, which earned the Literary Achievement Award from the Autism Society of America. Dr. Aspy has co-authored other works including FBA to Z: Functional Behavior and Intervention Plans for Individuals with ASD; Excelling with Autism: Obtaining Critical Mass Using Deliberate Practice; Talk With Me; and High Functioning Autism and Difficult Moments. Dr. Aspy speaks and consults nationally and internationally.    

Certificate of Completion:

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1. View the archived webinar on our Moodle site
2. Submit responses to the Study Questions (on Moodle)
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The webinars are listed by category and alphabetical order. The category for this webinar is Autism.