This webinar will examine the concept of traumatic stress as it relates to children and adolescents who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). This webinar is meant to be a second part to Dr. Wesley Dotson’s discussion on ASD. As a result, the focus will not be on ASD but on ASD and trauma. The webinar will start with the basics of trauma-informed care for children and adolescents, as well as how trauma and stress responses affect a person’s neurology and how to regulate this response more efficiently. The presenter will then move to concrete tools and resources for working with children and adolescents with both ASD and trauma exposure such as the Road to Recovery training series from the National Child Traumatic Stress Network (NCTSN).
Specific, concrete tools the viewer will be able to take with them at the end of this webinar are:
- How traumatic stress affects an individual’s neurology in the moment of crisis and how to “pull a person out of their neurology” to help with de-escalation.
- How YOUR neurology tries to drag you to a less effective response pattern during a crisis situation and how to reverse that effect.
- Specific resources for learning more about trauma and children with ASD (e.g., the NCTSN).
- Specific ways that ASD symptoms and trauma symptoms can be confused (e.g., odd eye contact or not answering your questions) and why this matters for your job.
This is the second of a four-part series, including:
- November 14: Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Characteristic Behaviors, Challenges, and Tips for Successful Interactions for Justice Professionals
- January 8: Wandering and Elopement in Children with ASD and NCMEC Resources
- February 4: Case Studies in Law Enforcement Encounters with Individuals on the Autism Spectrum
Presenter:
Dr. Michael Gomez is currently an assistant professor at the Center for Superheroes at Texas Tech University Health Sciences Center, Department of Pediatrics and an adjunct professor at Texas Tech University Psychological Sciences, where he is committed to the dissemination of evidence-based practices in psychology.
He was previously faculty at the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect/Child Study Center Department of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics at the University of Oklahoma Health and Sciences Center in Oklahoma City. He specializes in trauma-focused cognitive behavioral therapy (TF-CBT), treatment of adolescents with problematic sexual behaviors, parent-child interaction therapy, and assessment of autism spectrum disorders. He is 1 of 70 nationally certified TF-CBT trainers in the world. Additionally, he is a nationally certified Components for Enhancing Clinician Experience and Reducing Trauma (CE-CERT) trainer. CE-CERT is a model for addressing vicarious trauma in providers. He is trained in assessment and diagnostics of ASD. He is one of the three national co-chairs for the NCTSN Trauma and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Workgroup, as well as a member of the NCTSN Steering Committee and NCTSN Youth Task Force.