Optimism and Hope for the Future of Autism Discussed at Eden Autism Services 20th Annual Princeton Lecture Series
Summary
The morning kicked off with an inspiring and optimistic look at the understanding and treatment of autism by V. Mark Durand, Ph.D., Professor of Psychology at University of South Florida, St. Petersburg.Afternoon presentations included the Honorable Helen E. Hoens, former Justice of the NJ Supreme Court and the mother of an adult son with autism.Paul Wehman, Ph.D., Professor of Medicine at Virginia Commonwealth University concluded the Keynote presentations with his talk about youth with autism and the transition into adulthood and employment.He focused upon Functional Communication Training to help reduce challenging behaviors in people with Autism Spectrum Disorder.His talk was followed by Margaret Bauman, M.D., Associate Professor of Pathology at Boston University School of Medicine.Today, even though the prevalence rate has soared to 1 in 88 (1 in 49 in New Jersey), our understanding of the disorder has improved, treatments are more readily available and we can recognize that better outcomes are possible.”Funded in part by the Asch Foundation for Funding Education and Research in Autism and the Puzio Family Charitable Trust, Eden’s Princeton Lecture Series is a program of Eden Outreach Services, which is supported in part by Wawa, Inc., the Insurance Industry Charitable Foundation, the Connor P. Casey Foundation, and the Torch Foundation.Founded in 1975, Eden Autism Services was among the first to provide a wide range of science-based services to children and adults with autism through early intervention, 3 to 21 education, employment, adult residential, and consultative programs employing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA).