What should we be doing for young children with ASD? Options and evidence

Professor Sally J. Rogers is a developmental psychologist, Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and Director of Training and Mentoring at the MIND Institute, University of California Davis.  Her current research focuses on developing effective interventions for infants and toddlers with autism that families and professionals can deliver.  In addition to research, she is also a clinician, providing evaluation, treatment, and consultation to infants, children and adults with autism and their families. The empirically supported early intervention model that she developed with Geri Dawson and other colleagues - the Early Start Denver Model - is internationally known and was recognised by Time.com and Autism Speaks as one of the 10 main medical breakthroughs of 2012 and its materials have been translated into 15 languages.

Professor Rogers will present a historical overview of autism spectrum disorder leading up to modern day advances including the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) that she has co-developed in the United States.  She will also discuss the relevance of international research to the New Zealand context.