Monthly Webinar
AIR-P Presents: Title: Mindfulness: A Promising Therapeutic Approach for Autistic People
Mindfulness-based interventions (MBIs) are increasingly popular and are emerging as an empirically supported practice for autistic people. Mindfulness-based interventions are thought to directly target emotion regulation and self-compassion, and can be tailored to sensory needs, cognitive needs, and communication preferences. Despite growing interest in mindfulness for autistic people, there are few clinical delivery resources to support providers untrained in the use of mindfulness with autistic clients.
This session will provide an overview of mindfulness approaches for autistic people with and without intellectual disability, including the Emotion Awareness and Skills Enhancement (EASE) program (Conner et al., 2019; Beck et al., 2020). The session will conclude with common challenges and solutions for providers intending to use mindfulness with autistic people (Beck et al., 2020).
Topics Will Include:
- Key principles of mindfulness interventions and mechanisms of change
- Evidence-based mindfulness interventions for autistic people with and without intellectual disability.
- Suggestions for utilizing mindfulness practices with autistic people with and without intellectual disability.
About our presenter:
Dr. Kelly Beck, PhD is an Assistant Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh. She is a Licensed Professional Counselor with a longstanding interest in using mindfulness-based interventions with a variety of disability populations. She is a qualified Mindfulness-Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) teacher and has over 10 years of experience teaching mindfulness groups for people with and without disabilities. Beck is the co-developer of the Emotion Awareness and Skills Enhancement (EASE) program, an evidence-based mindfulness intervention designed to improve emotion regulation among autistic teens and young adults with and without intellectual disability. Dr. Beck’s specialty is using community-based participatory research methods to design and test programs that improve the mental health of autistic and neurodivergent people. Her work also focuses on sharing this research with community-based organizations and service providers.
View our most recent webinar below!
Webinar Title: 'Thanks for participating!' How Over 10,000 Autistic Females Have Advanced the Field through SPARK
Presented on: December 17, 2024
Webinar Description:
This webinar will provide an overview of the barriers to identifying, diagnosing, and caring for autistic females. We know that girls are diagnosed with autism with a lower frequency and later than boys; but why? This talk will cover the specific challenges faced by females on the autism spectrum, across the lifespan. Particular emphasis will include recent research conducted with the SPARK cohort, where intrinsic and extrinsic factors are considered, as well as the impact of co-occurring conditions on the autistic female. Clinical relevance and next steps to better serving females on the autism spectrum will be discussed. This webinar will present an overview of the barriers to identifying, diagnosing, and caring for autistic females. This webinar will provide an overview of the impact of co-occurring anxiety and ADHD on the autism female. This webinar will emphasize the importance of research participation, particularly for autistic females, to promote understanding and inclusion.