Tag Archives: AVA – Captioned

Addressing Mental Health in Autism : Should We Treat the Person with ASD, the Family, or the Community?

Filmed April 2017 – edited into 6 parts; total 90 minutes

In this fascinating keynote presentation, Dr. Jonathan Weiss, one of Canada’s leading autism researchers, describes the individual and contextual factors that increase the likelihood of mental health problems for individuals with autism. Drawing on the research, and his extensive clinical experience, Dr. Weiss offers important insights into the ways these problems can be  alleviated by working with individuals, families, and communities.

Learning Objectives
  • Recognize ways that mental health problems present in people with autism.
  • Identify individuals at risk and contextual risk factors for mental health problems.
  • Describe interventions to address mental health problems.
Jonathan Weiss, PhD, CPsych

Weiss_photoJonathan Weiss holds the Canadian Institute of Health Research Chair in Autism Spectrum Disorders Treatment and Care Research. He is a Clinical Psychologist and Associate Professor in the Department of Psychology at York University in Toronto. Dr. Weiss’ research focuses on the prevention and treatment of mental health problems in people with ASD and/or intellectual disabilities across the lifespan. He is interested in their health service needs, their emergency service use, and their experiences of psychiatric crisis.

Families play a critical role in the health of people with developmental disabilities by providing them with care and enabling their access to health services, one of Dr. Weiss’ research interests is the experience of family caregivers. In addition, he is interested in program development and evaluation. Dr. Weiss has a specific interest in the impact of Special Olympics on the psychological well-being of participants, and of cognitive-behavioural and social skill interventions to promote resilience and improve the mental health of children and adults with developmental disabilities.

Part 1: Introduction and overview

Topics covered:
  • Transdiagnostic approach
  • Multiple baseline design research
  • Correlational Study

Part 2: Individual-contextual approach to mental health problems

Part 3: The individual as the target

Part 4: The family as the target

Part 5: The community as the target

Part 6: Discussion period

Questions
  • What research is being done on the relationship between environmental factors and anxiety? (Start of video)
  • Mindfulness group strategies? (2:49)
  • Trauma-focused therapy? (4:35)
  • Self-reporting and research by autistic researchers? (5:30)
  • Is there a link between personality disorders and autism? (6:47)
  • How do you incorporate siblings into the bio-social approach of care? (10:32)
  • Parental mental health? (11:57)
  • What should be measured to document the impact of an intervention so as to demonstrate that it can have positive health implications?
References cited:

Girls and Women with Eating Disorders – Why are ASD and ADHD Missed?

Filmed April 2017 – edited into 3 parts; total 32 minutes
Christopher Gillberg, MD, PhD

Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Director, Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Gothenburg

Presentation Description

The onset of eating disorders, which tend to affect girls and women rather than boys and men, usually begins in puberty or early adult life, but in many cases it has been preceded by early onset neurodevelopmental problems, including ASD and ADHD (ASD in anorexia nervosa, ADHD in bulimia nervosa). The neurodevelopmental difficulties have usually not been properly diagnosed before the appearance of the eating disorder; the slightly different clinical presentation in females and the general public/professional perceptions of ASD and ADHD contribute to this state of affairs.

Professor Gillberg is a world renowned autism researcher who has developed the concept of ESSENCE (Early Symptomatic Syndromes Eliciting Neurodevelopmental Clinical Examinations), recognizing the overlapping symptoms of ASD, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder (ODD/CD), anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders, intellectual developmental disorder, communication disorders, dyslexia, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and others.

This presentation was preceded by Dr. Gillberg’s lecture, also available at Autism Videos @ ACT: ESSENCE* – Early Recognition of ASD and Associated Disorders Can Lead to Better Outcomes

Also available is  Practical Strategies for Supporting Mental Wellness of Teenage Girls and Women with ASD,  a presentation by Dori Zener, MSW, RSW.

These presentations were recorded in 2017 at ACT’s 13th Annual Focus on Research Conference, held at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia. ACT appreciates Dr. Gillberg’s generosity in allowing us to include it in Autism Videos @ ACT.

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Learning Objectives
  • Recognize symptoms of ASD and ADHD in eating disorders.
  • Understand how ASD and ADHD contribute to the eating disorder.
  • Analyze how, in the individual case, ASD and/or ADHD should best be diagnosed and intervened for and how this will affect outcome in the longer term.
Christopher Gillberg, MD, PhD

Christopher Gillberg is Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden where he heads the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre. He is also Visiting or Honorary Professor at the Universities of London, University College London (Institute of Child Health), University of Glasgow, University of Edinburgh, and Kochi University, Japan (where he is involved with the Japan Environment Cohort Study/JECS). Christopher Gillberg is considered the most productive autism researcher in the world, and is on Thomson Reuters 2014 list of the world´s most influential researchers (all fields) because of the number  of citations of the many peer-reviewed scientific papers he has published (600) relevant to children´s and adolescents’ mental and neurological health. His research interests included ASD, ADHD, Tourette syndrome, intellectual disability, epilepsy, behavioural phenotype syndromes, depression, reactive attachment disorder and anorexia nervosa. His research ranges from genetics and basic neuroscience through epidemiology and clinical phenomenology to treatments/interventions and outcome. He has written 31 books, which have been published in more than a dozen languages, several of which are standard textbooks in the field of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Autism. He is an honorary member of the Swedish National Autism Society and ADHD Society (“Attention”), and a member of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences.

Visit Dr. Gillberg’s blog. Christopher Gillberg and his team of experts offer their opinions each week on the latest happenings in the world of neuropsychiatry and mental health (ESSENCE). 

Part 1: Introduction

Part 2: Autism in Anorexia Nervosa and Eating Disorders

Part 3: Why are Females with Autism missed?

How should we plan for best recognition and intervention in autism and other ESSENCE in females?

Topics covered:

ESSENCE* – Early Recognition of ASD and Associated Disorders – Can It Lead to Better Outcomes?

Filmed April 2017 – edited into 6 parts; total 111 minutes
Christopher Gillberg, MD, PhD,  

Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University of Gothenburg, Sweden

Director, Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Gothenburg

Presentation Description

Professor Gillberg is a world renowned autism researcher who has developed the concept of ESSENCE (Early Symptomatic Syndromes Eliciting Neurodevelopmental Clinical Examinations), recognizing the overlapping symptoms of ASD, ADHD, Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder (ODD/CD), anorexia nervosa and other eating disorders, intellectual developmental disorder, communication disorders, dyslexia, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and others.

In this thought provoking presentation, Dr. Gillberg makes the case that while these are common childhood onset disorders affecting about 10% of the general population, with early recognition, psychoeducation and other targeted interventions, adaptive outcomes in adult life can be improved.

This presentation was recorded in 2017 at ACT’s 13th Annual Focus on Research Conference, held at Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, British Columbia. ACT appreciates Dr. Gillberg’s generosity in allowing us to include it in Autism Videos @ ACT.

This presentation was followed by Dr. Gillberg’s lecture Girls and Women with Eating Disorders – Why are ASD and ADHD Missed?  also available via Autism Videos @ ACT.

Show more

Learning Objectives
  • Recognize symptoms of ESSENCE/neurodevelopmental disorders at all ages and refer for appropriate assessment.
  • Understand the basic mechanisms underlying ASD and ADHD.
  • Analyze how “primary” ESSENCE lead on to “secondary” outcomes including psychiatric disorder, substance use disorder, criminality and physical ill-health.
Christopher Gillberg, MD, PhD

Dr. Christopher Gillberg is Professor of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of Gothenburg, Sweden where he heads the Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre. He is also Visiting or Honorary Professor at the Universities of London, University College London (Institute of Child Health), University of Glasgow, University of Edinburgh, and Kochi University, Japan (where he is involved with the Japan Environment Cohort Study/JECS). Christopher Gillberg is considered the most productive autism researcher in the world, and is on Thomson Reuters 2014 list of the world´s most influential researchers (all fields) because of the number  of citations of the many peer-reviewed scientific papers he has published (600) relevant to children´s and adolescents’ mental and neurological health. His research interests included ASD, ADHD, Tourette syndrome, intellectual disability, epilepsy, behavioural phenotype syndromes, depression, reactive attachment disorder and anorexia nervosa. His research ranges from genetics and basic neuroscience through epidemiology and clinical phenomenology to treatments/interventions and outcome. He has written 31 books, which have been published in more than a dozen languages, several of which are standard textbooks in the field of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Autism. He is an honorary member of the Swedish National Autism Society and ADHD Society (“Attention”), and a member of the Norwegian Academy of Sciences.

Visit Dr. Gillberg’s blog. Christopher Gillberg and his team of experts offer their opinions each week on the latest happenings in the world of neuropsychiatry and mental health (ESSENCE). 

Part 1: Introducing ESSENCE

Topics covered:
  • ADHD
  • Developmental Coordination Disorder

Part 2: ESSENCE – continued

Topics covered:
  • Language Impairment
  • Intellectual Developmental Disorder
  • Tourette Syndrome
  • Autism
  • Asperger Syndrome
  • Reactive Attachment Disorder

Part 3: ESSENCE – continued

Topics covered:
  • Fragile X Syndrome
  • Fetal Alcohol Syndrome
  • Tuberous Sclerosis
  • Epilepsy
  • Cerebral Palsy
  • Febrile Seizures
  • Physical Health and ADHD

Part 4: What are the Symptoms of ESSENCE?

Part 5: Predictors of Outcome in Autism

Topics covered:
  • Role of Intensity of Intervention
  • Asperger Syndrome and Schizophrenia
  • Borderline Personality Disorder

Part 6: Q&A

Questions asked (with time question is asked noted):
  • How would you bring ESSENCE to smaller communities where there aren’t the services and resources? (Start of video)
  • Is it possible to delay a diagnosis of autism and put the children under the ESSENCE umbrella?(04:02)
  • What assessment or treatment would you recommend for a child, 7 to 8, with Autism who is receiving early intervention and has not yet been diagnosed with another disorder yet is starting to present some anxiety and has an aggressive family history of mental illness? (13:50)
  • What kind of training do professionals need to identify ESSENCE disorders? (16:35)
  • With regards to early assessment, what is the TTF? (25:18)
    View screening questionnaires from Gillberg Neuropsychiatry Centre
  • Could you comment on early diagnosis of ASD? (28:54)