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Stress and the COVID-19 Pandemic: Paying Attention to Your Cortisol Level in Challenging Times
The COVID-19 pandemic not only worries us about our health but our very survival as a society. We all can identify with the emotional, physical and cognitive impact of stress on our bodies and minds. In stressful situations we struggle to concentrate, remember and learn. We are more prone to...
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The Development of Theatre Arts to Facilitate Social and Communication Skills for People with Autism Spectrum Disorder
There is an emerging though limited body of research demonstrating the effectiveness of theatre-related activities to facilitate social and communication skills, teach emotional recognition and expression, non-verbal behaviors and gestures, listening and conversation skills, eye contact, as well as...
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Autism and ADHD: DSM-5 Conditions with Significant Symptom Overlap
In the last twelve years, a number of peer reviewed studies have demonstrated the elevated incidence of ADHD symptoms within populations of children receiving DSM-IV-TR and DSM-5 diagnoses of Autism, Autism Spectrum Disorder, Asperger’s Disorder and Pervasive Developmental Disorder – Not...
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Employing Theater Arts to Enhance the Lives of Individuals with ASD
The EPIC Players Inclusion Company is a theater based group in New York City, founded by Aubrie Therrien. EPIC’s goals include redefining the face of theater arts, creating employment opportunities for actors with Autism Spectrum Disorder, and providing the local community with an active theater...
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From Assessment to Intervention: Strategies for Identifying and Monitoring Treatment Progress in ASD
Evidence based treatment and the assessment of treatment effectiveness are dependent upon the collection of data during the evaluation process providing information about symptoms, impairment and abilities in children with ASD. Such an assessment allows for a seamless transition from diagnosis to...
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The Early Identification of Young Children with ASD
In developed countries, a child’s initial assessment for ASD typically takes place before they enter elementary school. Usually the question asked at that point is whether or not the child suffers from Autism and what can be done as the child prepares to enter an organized school setting....
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Changing the Mindset of Autistic Children and Adolescents
A major focus of our collaboration has been to elaborate upon the concepts of both mindsets and resilience (Brooks and Goldstein, 2001, 2004, 2007, 2012; Goldstein and Brooks, 2005, 2007). We propose that all people possess a set of assumptions about themselves and others that influence their...
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Autism and Asperger’s: Two Distinct Disorders or One Disorder of Varying Symptom Severity
Autism has been conceptualized as a biologically determined set of behaviors occurring with varying presentation and severity that is likely as the result of varying cause (for review, see Goldstein, Naglieri, & Ozonoff, 2008). The disorder occurs significantly more often in boys (Smalley,...
