Early Intervention and Treatment

 

Webinars

 

Understanding and Supporting the Executive Functioning of Autistic Students (February-March 2023)

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) is the most common co-occurring diagnosis for autistic youth. However, the substantial overlap between autism and ADHD can pose challenges in identifying and supporting students with autism, ADHD, or both. The goal of this webinar series is to provide information about executive functioning differences that are common in autistic students and how these challenges relate to and are distinct from ADHD.

 

Part I: Understanding executive functioning differences among autistic students with and without co-occurring ADHD (February 2023)

Part 1 will help participants to understand common executive functioning differences in autistic students and how these differences relate to ADHD.

 

Part II: Evidence-based approaches to support the executive functioning of autistic students (March 2023)

Part 2 will provide an overview of evidence-based approaches that can be used to support the executive functioning of autistic students, including those with co-occurring ADHD.

 

Supporting Autistic Students in the Classroom and other Mental Health Challenges: Your Questions Answered (September-October 2022)

Part I (September 2022)

Part II (October 2022)

1 in 44 school-age children have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Autistic students are much more likely than non-autistic students to experience mental health challenges, including difficulty with emotion regulation, anxiety, and depression that may be exacerbated by experiences of bullying, victimization, and segregation within schools. There is an urgent need to support the mental and behavioral health of autistic students. In the past year, the SEMHTTC team has disseminated resources related to identifying and supporting mental health challenges in this population, with a specific emphasis on anxiety here. The purpose of this two-part series is to build on the didactic content covered in our earlier learning sessions (learning session 1, learning session 2) and provide more opportunity to cover a case example, engage in discussion, and have ample time for Q&A. In each session, we will provide a very brief overview of the prior content we covered, have an in-depth discussion of one case example, and ample time for questions and open conversation related to the mental health of autistic students.

 

Afraid of Opening Pandora's Box? How to Address Student Needs After Mental Health Screening in Schools (August 2022)

Schools are increasingly interested and engaged in universal mental health screening for students to inform early detection and intervention to promote student well-being. However, given the increase in child and adolescent mental health needs increasing over recent decades, exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, social media, racial violence and other recent events, schools are understandably concerned about how they will practically and ethically meet the mental health needs of students if they conduct universal screening. This learning session provides practical information about evidence-informed screening practices to help protect school systems from identifying more student mental health need than they can reasonably address. This includes activities schools can engage in prior to screening (e.g., resource mapping, surveillance screening) as well as during the screening process (e.g., gradual scale-up). We also discuss strategies to address student mental health needs that go beyond referral to mental health treatment (i.e., “Tier 3”), with a focus on options available to low-resource settings that experience barriers to care such as mental health professional shortages. Field examples of mental health screening and how student needs were addressed are provided.

 

Understanding and Supporting the Behavior of Students with Autism Spectrum Disorder (April 2022)

This webinar provides an overview of the reasons that challenging behavior may occur in students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). It also provides an overview of strategies that can be used to prevent challenging behaviors in these students, and resources that can provide additional information related to managing challenging behaviors. The two presenters have expertise in supporting students with ASD and behavioral health challenges within school settings.

 

Measurement-Based Care Series (November 2021-March 2022)

Student mental health early intervention (Tier 2) and treatment (Tier 3) services and supports are a vital component of any comprehensive school mental health system, but how student-centered, evidence-based, and effective are they?

 

Part I: Introduction to Measurement-based Care for more Personalized, Collaborative, and Effective School Mental Health Interventions (November 2021)

In this session, Dr. Connors provides guidance on how your school or district team can integrate measurement-based care (MBC) in your Tier 2 and 3 services to improve service quality, track outcomes, and sustain these crucial services for students with emerging or existing mental health needs. This session provides information on what MBC is, why it is useful for schools, how to locate free and low-cost progress measures, and best practices in training and implementation support for school professionals.

 

Part II: Opportunities and Solutions to Implement Measurement-Based Care for more Personalized, Collaborative, and Effective School Mental Health Interventions (March 2022)

View this session to hear about how your school or district team can implement measurement-based care (MBC) in your Tier 2 and 3 services to improve service quality, track outcomes, and sustain crucial services for students with emerging or existing mental health needs. MBC is the ongoing use of student-, parent- and teacher-reported progress measures to inform personalized, collaborative, effective interventions. This session provides practical strategies to implement MBC in schools by sharing information on: (1) free, validated assessment measures; (2) tips on how to promote student and parent participation; (3) criteria for evaluating data system options; and (4) approaches to design effective training and ongoing support for your school mental health professionals.

 

Supporting the Mental Health of Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (September 2021)

 

Part I (September 2021)

This webinar is the first in a two-part series Supporting the Mental Health of Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Part I of this series defines intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDDs) and describes signs of mental health challenges in students with IDDs.

 

Part II (September 2021)

This webinar is the second in a two-part series Supporting the Mental Health of Students with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities. Part II of this series provides an overview of evidence-based approaches and practices that can be used within schools to support the mental health of students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. It also describes challenges and solutions when implementing these practices in schools.

 

Infographics

 

Strategies to Support Executive Function in Autistic Students: Flexibility (August 2023)

Recent prevalence estimates indicate that 1 in 36 school-age children have autism. Autistic students are much more likely than non-autistic students to experience mental health challenges, including difficulty with flexibility.  This infographic provides information about strategies that can be used by educators to help autistic students navigate situations that differ from their expectations. This infographic includes how to teach these flexibility strategies in a manner that is inclusive and neurodiversity affirming.

 

Strategies to Support Executive Function in Autistic Students: Emotion Regulation (July 2023)

Recent prevalence estimates indicate that 1 in 36 school-age children have autism. Autistic students are much more likely than non-autistic students to experience mental health challenges, including difficulty with emotion regulation.  This infographic provides information about strategies educators can use to support autistic students that experience emotion regulation challenges in a manner that is inclusive and neurodiversity affirming.

 

Common Executive Function Differences in Autistic Students and Why They Matter at School (May 2023)

1 in 36 school-age children have autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Autistic students are much more likely than non-autistic students to experience mental health challenges, including difficulty with executive functioning.  This infographic provides an overview of common executive function differences in autistic students and why these differences matter for school.

 

Using Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) to Support the Mental Health of Autistic Students: An Overview (August 2022)

As many as 50 percent of autistic youth experience anxiety. This brief report discusses best practices in supporting the mental health of autistic students, with an emphasis on school-based treatments for anxiety.

 

Supporting the Mental Health of Autistic Students (August 2022)

In the U.S., approximately 2% of youth have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Mental health challenges are much more common among autistic youth. This infographic displays how anxiety symptoms make school participation difficult for autistic youth, and evidence- based practices to support anxiety symptoms.

 

Identifying Anxiety in Autistic Students: Common Symptoms and Considerations (June 2022)

In the U.S., approximately 2% of youth have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Anxiety disorders are much more common among autistic youth. This infographic displays anxiety symptoms that are commonly experienced by autistic students.

 

Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Mental Health Challenges in Autistic Students (May 2022)

In the U.S., approximately 2% of youth have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Mental health challenges are much more common among autistic youth. This infographic explores the relationship between autism and mental health risk in school-age youth.

 

Toolkits

 

Resource to Support the Mental Health of Autistic Students at School (August 2022)

The Southeast MHTTC put together this comprehensive toolkit made up of webinars and resources to support students with intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

 

The Southeast MHTTC created a comprehensive product catalogue of the resources and information they have published. Click here to view the full product catalogue. Additionally, these products are presented on the following pages of our website: 

 

Key Resources

Comprehensive School Mental Health Systems: Foundations 

Mental Health Services and Supports in Schools 

Funding, Sustainability, and Impact