Helpletterfall 2011
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HelpLetterFALL 2011 EMERGING TRENDS IN AUTISM, LEARNING DISABILITIES AND ADHD THE HELP GROUP OPENS NEW AUTISM CENTER t was a dream come true when The Help Group, Mayor Antonio R. Villaraigosa, Supervisor Zev Yaroslavksy, a host of dignitaries I and special guests proudly gathered on January 24th for a ribbon cutting celebration to mark the official opening of the new Help Group Autism Center. This state-of-the-art campus, located in Sherman Oaks, is dedicated to education, therapy, arts, research, parent and professional training and outreach. The major components include the Intervention & Day School Center, the Research Training & Conference Center and the Theater & Arts Complex. It is the new home of The Help Group - UCLA Autism Research Alliance and Hasbro Boundless Playground. The Autism Center provides the additional facility infrastructure that enables The Help Group to offer the most comprehensive, innovative and seamless system of autism spectrum disorders services available in the United States. The Center is The Help Group’s fifth campus serving young people with special needs. Gary H. Carmona, Help Group Board Chair, L.A. County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky, Mayor Antonio R. Dr. Barbara Firestone, Help Group President & CEO, welcomed Villaraigosa, Dr. Barbara Firestone, Help Group President & CEO, L.A. City Controller Wendy Greuel, Dr. Susan Berman, Help Group COO, and Help Group Students more than 200 guests to this milestone event. “Our new autism continued on page 10 SUMMIT 2011 BRINGS TOGETHER The Help Group 20 OF THE NATION’S LEADING EXPERTS SUMMIT 2011 he Help Group will host its annual Summit: Advances and Best Practices in Autism, Learning Disabilities and ADHD on Friday, Advances and Best Practices in T October 21st and Saturday, October 22nd at the Skirball Cultural AUTISM █ LEARNING DISABILITIES █ ADHD Center in Los Angeles. This cutting edge conference, generously sponsored by First 5 California, October 21st & October 22nd will feature more than 20 of the nation’s leading experts presenting the Skirball Cultural Center, Los Angeles latest information to professionals, parents, graduate and undergraduate students. For online registration and detailed event information, please visit SUMMIT CHAIRS www.thehelpgroup.org. Register before September 17 for early bird prices. Barbara Firestone, PhD Peter Whybrow, MD | Robert Bilder PhD for event details see page 5 IN THIS EDITION The Transporters: Teaching Children with Bully Proofing Strategies ADHD as a Disorder of Executive Function: Autism to Recognize Emotions for Teens with ASD Implications for Understanding Academic Simon Baron-Cohen, PhD, et al. Elizabeth Laugeson, PsyD Functioning and Improving Assessment of ADHD Marcos DiPinto, PhD The Importance of Multiple-Component The Science And Art of Medication Remediation for Children and Adolescents with Use in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) Memory Strategies for Students Reading Disabilities A Pediatrician’s Approach with Test Anxieties Maureen W. Lovett, PhD, et al. Ricki G. Robinson, MD, MPH Philip Levin, PhD HelpLetter elcome to our fall edition of HelpLetter! I’d like to thank our contributors for offering their insights on a wide range of A publication of The Help Group W important topics. We’re pleased to share their perspectives with you. In this edition, we’re delighted to tell you about the ribbon cutting celebration THE HELP GROUP PROFFESIONAL of our Sherman Oaks West Campus—the home of our new Autism Center. EXECUTIVE ADministration ADvisory COUNCIL On this special occasion, we dedicated our campus to children and families Barbara Firestone, PhD Robert M. Bilder, PhD confronting the challenges of autism and thanked all who helped to make our President & CEO University of California, Los Angeles new campus a reality. Susan Berman, PhD Susan Bookheimer, PhD Chief Operating Officer University of California, Los Angeles We also have a preview of our upcoming Summit 2011: Advances and Best Tom Komp, LCSW Thomas E. Brown, PhD Practices in Autism, Learning Disabilities and ADHD. We invite you to join us Senior Vice President Yale University on October 21 and 22 at the Skirball Cultural Center in Los Angeles. Mike Love Senior Vice President Eric Courchesne, PhD University of California, San Diego It’s always a pleasure to have this opportunity to touch base with our John Farrimond, MBA HelpLetter community. We greatly appreciate your interest and friendship! Vice President Jack M. Fletcher, PhD University of Houston Best Regards,, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT Stephen Hinshaw, PhD & RESEARCH faculty University of California, Berkeley Karen Enyedy, PhD Catherine Lord, PhD Director University of Michigan Intern Training NYU Child Study Center Barbara Firestone, PhD The Help Group President & CEO, The Help Group Philip Levin, PhD James T. McCracken, MD Program Director UCLA Semel Institute and Resnick Neuropsychiatric Hospital The Help Group – UCLA CONTRIBUTORS Neuropsychology Program Bennett A. Shaywitz, MD Director, Outcomes Research Yale University Maureen W. Lovett, PhD Elizabeth Laugeson, PsyD Senior Scientist, Neurosciences & Mental Health Program Sally E. Shaywitz, MD Director Director, Learning Disabilities Research Program The Help Group – UCLA Autism Yale University Director, The Hospital For Sick Children Research Alliance Professor of Pediatrics and Medical Sciences, Susan L. Smalley, PhD University of Toronto Sara McCracken, PsyD University of California, Los Angeles Director The Help Group Young Learners Joseph Torgesen, PhD Simon Baron-Cohen, PhD & Early Intervention Programs Florida State University Director, Autism Research Centre (ARC) Professor of Developmental Psychopathology, Bina Varughese, MS Roberta G. Williams, MD University of Cambridge Coordinator Keck School of Medicine, Fellow, Trinity College Educational Services University of Southern California Summit View School Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Marcos DiPinto, PhD Pediatric Neuropsychologist █ █ █ Department of Pediatric Psychology Children’s Hospital of Orange County CONTENT EDITORS Elizabeth Laugeson, PsyD Elizabeth Laugeson, PsyD, Philip Levin, PhD, Sara McCracken, PsyD Director, The Help Group – UCLA Autism Research Alliance MANAGING EDITOR Director, UCLA PEERS Program Jill Slattery Assistant Clinical Professor GRAPHIC DESIGNERS Kristine Lopez & Shaimoom Newaz Philip Levin, PhD The information in HelpLetter is provided as a public service to heighten awareness Program Director, Outcomes Research of issues related to children with special needs and does not necessarily reflect the The Help Group – UCLA Nueropsychology Program views, opinions and/or endorsements of The Help Group. Assistant Clinical Professor, Semel Institute, UCLA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED Ricki Robinson, MD, MPH Co-Director, Descanso Medical Center www.thehelpgroup.org for Development and Learning Clinical Professor of Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine USC THE Importance OF Multiple-COMPONENT Remediation FOR CHILDREN AND ADOLESCENTS WITH READING DISABILITIES Maureen W. Lovett, PhD, Karen A. Steinbach, MA and Jennifer Goudey PhD nglish is a complex What, specifically, should language and the multiple component reading E ability to read English interventions include? It is well requires many different essential that an intervention skills. Our understanding of include training in phonological the basic processes underlying awareness (awareness of and reading skill development ability to manipulate the sounds has increased dramatically in of spoken words), which should the past 30 years, as has our include explicit instruction in the understanding of why some alphabetic system (the sounds students struggle with learning the letters make) and how to to read. Researchers have blend sounds to read words. identified several main areas This component of instruction is of difficulty, often called core necessary to directly remediate deficits, which contribute to the phonological deficit of the development of a reading students with reading disabilities disability. There are two and will improve students’ fundamental processes that ability to figure out unknown are involved in learning to read: the understanding that words are made up regular words. However, recognizing that the English language is often of individual sounds and the ability to manipulate sounds in words (what unpredictable, simply targeting this deficit is not enough for successful is called “phonological awareness”). It is widely accepted that those who remediation. Intervention should also directly target the core deficit in have a reading disability have poor phonological awareness; they are said to strategy learning. Struggling readers, armed with several word identification have a core “phonological deficit.” Several studies looked at the benefit of strategies, experience more success at reading words and text. An example remediation that targeted only this phonological deficit through instruction of the strategies that we teach struggling readers in our Empower™ Reading of sound-blending skills and letter-sound knowledge and it was found that Program is provided in the sidebar. phonologically-based remediation resulted in significant improvement in students’ reading skills. Further research showed, however, that this was not An effective reading program also offers opportunities to build fluency in the entire story. reading and to enrich vocabulary, and also provides instruction in reading comprehension strategies (to help students understand text). Less is known Struggling readers often have additional