DOORS Conference 2005

Douglass

Organization for

Occupational &

Related Educational

Services

“Building Bridges for Learners with Autism:
Social Skills Training Approaches”
and
“Challenging Behaviors:
Prevention and Management of Difficult Behaviors in Inclusive Settings”

	8:30am - 9:00am	Registration and Continental Breakfast
	9:00am -10:30am	Social & Play Skills — Dr. Harris
	10:30am - 11:45am	Social Initiations, Responsiveness and Comprehension — Dr. Weiss
	11:45am - 1:00pm	Lunch - (food court on premises)
	1:00pm - 3:00pm	Challenging Behaviors — Dr. Harris & Dr. Weiss

This workshop will address several strategies for building social skills in learners with autism spectrum disorders. Emphasis will be placed on skills in a variety of domains of social interaction. Within play, strategies for building cooperative play and imaginative play will be delineated. Within social skills, strategies for building social responsiveness, social initiations, and social comprehension will be described. Issues such as quality of response, independence of response, and speed of response will be reviewed. In the realm of social skills, special attention will be given to the use of role plays, rule cards and social stories as strategies to teach socially relevant behaviors. There will also be a discussion of problem solving strategies, and how to help children master the ability to make effective choices in social situations. The use of formal and naturalistic teaching strategies will be reviewed, and options for tracking progress objectively will be discussed.

Challenging Behaviors: Prevention and Management
of Difficult Behaviors in Inclusive Settings

This workshop will address how to understand and treat challenging behaviors. In the assessment realm, the focus will be on using direct observational data to generate hypotheses about the functions of behavior. In the treatment realm, the emphasis will be on the use of antecedent strategies to prevent problem behavior, ways to build appropriate replacement skills to serve the same functions as the challenging behavior, and on selecting treatments that match the functions of the target.

Sandra L. Harris received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from the University of Maryland at College Park in 1964 and she earned her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1969. She is presently a Board of Governors Distinguished Service Professor of Clinical Psychology at the Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology and the Department of Psychology at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey. Dr. Harris is Executive Director of the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center, a Rutgers University program for children, adolescents, and adults with autism that she founded in 1972. She is the author of several books and numerous book chapters and journal articles concerning the needs of people with autism and the special needs of families that include a child with autism. Dr. Harris is nationally and internationally recognized for her work in this area and gives lectures around the world on her research. She is a fellow of the American Psychological Association, the American Psychological Society and the American Association of Applied and Preventive Psychology. She is an associate editor for the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders. She is a past editor of The Clinical Psychologist, and serves on several editorial boards. She is the Autism Series editor for Woodbine House. Her book, Siblings. A Guide for Parents of Children with Autism, won the 1995 Autism Society of America's Literary Achievement Award. Her most recent book written with Lara Delmolino, and published by Woodbine House in 2004, is Incentives for change. Motivating people with autism spectrum disorders to learn and gain independence.

Mary Jane Weiss received her Ph.D. in Clinical Psychology from Rutgers University in 1990. She became a Board Certified Behavior Analyst in 2000. She is an Associate Research Professor at Rutgers University, and she is the Director of Research and Training at the Douglass Developmental Disabilities Center at Rutgers University. Her clinical and research interests center on the identification of best practice ABA techniques, on evaluating the impact of ABA in learners with autism, and in maximizing family members’ expertise and adaptation. She has written numerous articles and three books on autism, Right from the start: Behavioral Intervention for young children with autism (co-authored with Sandra Harris, 1998), Reaching out, joining in: Teaching social skills to young children with autism (co-authored with Sandra Harris, 2001), and Sibling stories: Reflections on life with a brother or sister on the autism spectrum (co-authored with Lynne Stern Feiges, 2004). She is also a regular presenter at regional, national, and international conferences on topics relevant to ABA and autism.

New Jersey Turnpike
Turn off at Exit 9, bear right after the toll booths and follow signs for “Route 18 North – New Brunswick.” Stay to the left to continue on Route 18 North. Proceed along Route 18 North, crossing the Raritan River (approximately 3.7 miles). Continue on Route 18 North to the Campus Road exit ramp on the right. Follow Campus Road until you come to the Circle. Take the first right off the Circle onto Bartholomew Road. Continue on Bartholomew Road and the Busch Campus Center will be on your left. Park in lot directly across from the Campus Center.

Garden State Parkway—Southbound
Turn off at Exit 129 and take the New Jersey Turnpike South. Follow directions above for New Jersey Turnpike.

Garden State Parkway-Northbound
Turn off at Exit 105 and follow signs for Route 18 North. After approximately 24 miles, you will pass the entrance for the New Jersey Turnpike. Follow directions above for “New Jersey Turnpike” starting with “Proceed along Route 18 North…”

Interstate 287
Turn off at “Bound Brook/Highland Park” (Exit 9). Proceed east on River Road toward Highland Park. Continue on River Road and you will pass under the overpass for Route 18. Make the next left onto Route 18 North. Continue on Route 18 North to the Campus Road exit ramp on the right. Follow Campus Road until you come to the Circle and take the first right off the Circle onto Bartholomew Road. Continue on Bartholomew Road and the Busch Campus Center will be on your left. Park in the lot directly across from the Campus Center.

Route 1 North or South
Turn off at “Route 18 North-New Brunswick”. Follow directions above for “New Jersey Turn- pike” starting with “Proceed along Route 18 North…”

(Lost while driving? Call Busch Campus Center
Welcome Desk for help at 732-445-4724)

Please complete and return this registration form and payment to: DOORS-Conference, c/o Cathy Avasso, 151 Ryders Lane, New Brunswick, NJ 08901. Checks may be made payable to ‘DOORS’. Purchase Orders are accepted. Registration Fee: $100.00. Early registration (postmarked by Oct 13, 2006): $90. 00. Questions: email: Avasso@rci.rutgers.edu.

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