Prof. Vanessa Bal

Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey
*Deze sessie is Engelstalig

Biografie
Dr. Bal is the Karmazin & Lillard Chair in Adult Autism and Professor and Dept Chair in the Applied Psychology Department at the Graduate School of Applied & Professional Psychology. She is a licensed clinical psychologist whose research focuses on autism in adulthood.

Samenvatting: Assessment & Treatment of Depression in minimally speaking autistic individuals
Autistic adults are more likely to have co-occurring psychiatric diagnoses, such as depression or anxiety, than the general population. Although a substantial minority of autistic individuals are nonspeaking or minimally speaking, little attention has been given to assess or treat co-occurring depression in this subgroup. Improving practices for monitoring and supporting the mental health of minimally speaking autistic individuals is critical to ensuring that this population has equitable access to care. This presentation will highlight caregiver-reported features of depression and report findings on the utility of existing measures for use in depression screening with minimally speaking autistic individuals. The presentation will also discuss caregiver-reported views on why their adult children are depressed and provide an overview of an adapted behavioral activation program to treat depression in minimally speaking adults.