Integrating Autism & Mental Health Interventions with Behavioral Strategies

Presented by Jennifer O’Keefe, LPCC-S, Manager of Transition Education Program; Heather Quinn, LPCC-S, Supervisor of Monarch Boarding Academy South; and Stacy Cianciolo, M.Ed., BCBA, Behavior Department Supervisor, The Monarch Center for Autism, Cleveland, Ohio
Sponsored by Monarch Center for Autism, STAR Autism Support, and VizZle

WATCH THE WEBINAR RECORDING

Within 24 hours after the live event, a CE certificate is emailed to live attendees who logged in online with their email address. To get your CE certificate for logging in live by phone, or for watching the recording, join the Teaching Students with Autism community and go to the Webinar Archives folder to take the CE quiz. As a member of the community, you’ll also have access to additional resources and online discussions.

Take an in-depth look at the combined effect of autism and co-existing mental health conditions. The presenters discussed the impact on day-to-day function, and strategies to support improved behavior, learning and performance of students with dual diagnoses.

Topics included:

• Introduction and prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) with comorbid mental health conditions
• Awareness and assessment
• Common co-occurring conditions
• Treating the whole child
• Collaboration and coordination between teachers, mental health clinicians, behaviorists and parents
• Developing multi-disciplinary tools and strategies for the classroom setting (e.g., visual supports, behavior plans, communication and sensory supports)
• Developing creative and flexible classroom environments that integrate and value these tools/strategies
• Successfully implementing/maintaining classroom supports to promote enhanced coping, engagement and independence

Jennifer O’Keefe, LPCC-S is the Manager of Monarch Transition Education Program. Prior to this, she worked for more than 10 years in the residential setting at Bellefaire JCB (Monarch Center for Autism’s parent organization), providing direct care to children with mental health diagnoses. After pursuing her master’s degree in counseling, she transitioned into the world of autism, and most recently served as Assistant Director of Residential Treatment at Bellefaire JCB.

Heather Quinn, LPCC-S is the Supervisor of Monarch Boarding Academy South, a residential treatment facility for individuals ages 8 to 22 with autism, some of whom have dual mental health diagnoses. She has served as an individual and family therapist in both the outpatient and school based departments at Bellefaire JCB.

Stacy Cianciolo, M.Ed., BCBA is the Behavior Department Supervisor at Monarch School. She has been employed by Monarch Center for Autism for 15 years in a variety of roles including preschool supervisor, teacher, and community and home-based consultant.

WATCH THE WEBINAR RECORDING

Monarch Center for Autism, a division of Bellefaire JCB, is located in Cleveland, Ohio. Monarch offers a comprehensive array of programs and services for individuals ages three through adulthood with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Highlights, which incorporate Monarch’s visual language treatment model, include a preschool; day school for children, adolescents & young adults; transition education program; summer & extended school year programs; therapeutic residential treatment program; adult vocational & supported living programs; and community training.

 
STAR Autism Support (SAS) provides curriculum materials, workshops and training to school and agency staff who work with students with autism. Our mission is to help others successfully implement research-based applied behavior analysis (ABA) techniques. We want every child with autism to receive effective instruction!

 
VizZle provides a library of more than 14,000 lessons and the tools and media to customize them or create your own from scratch. The lessons can be tailored to any grade level, assigned to any student, and played on iPad or Android tablets, laptop or desktop computers. Data is tracked automatically. This award-winning software is developed collaboratively with educators.