Past Events

Two main approaches are being pursued to identify new medication treatments that may benefit children with Autism Spectrum Disorder. The first and most common approach is to evaluate a treatment in the total group of people affected by ASD. With limited support for common genetic or environmental risk factors that contribute to risk in ASD, treatment studies in the overall group of children with ASD largely attempt to address individual symptom domains by targeting brain systems and pathways that are not necessarily implicated in autism risk. The second approach is almost the exact opposite, to study a medication for ASD-related symptoms in a defined genetic syndrome that confers substantial risk of ASD but comprises <2% of individuals with ASD.

In this seminar, we discuss common challenges and safety concerns that come with access to the internet for kids and teens and how to manage your child’s internet use in a fair, consistent, and safe way.

Many modern developmental theories center on the need to master the sensory world, empowering higher cognition and self-regulation. Yet has this emphasis led to a more resilient, happier population? Emerging neuroimaging research suggests that the successful inhibition of affective processing following negative mood challenge is paradoxically linked to greater depression vulnerability. Convergingly, 'third-wave' psychotherapies such as mindfulness training seem to enhance sensory integration rather than empower top-down control. Together, the evidence suggests that wellbeing depends on balance between sensory and control systems. Practically, this may require a greater appreciation of the benefits of 'sense foraging' in the face of affective disturbance as an alternative to the many avenues for inhibition or avoidance of negative emotion available today. New directions in behavioral assessment and intervention will be discussed.

In this seminar, we will discuss the importance of self-care for parents, how it can impact your children, and useful ways to create space in your life for yourself.

Dr. Spence is a child neurologist with a PhD in neuropsychology. After faculty positions at UCLA and in the intramural research program at the National Institute of Mental Health, she was recruited to Boston Children's Hospital in 2010. At BCH, she was one of the founders and the co-director of the Autism Spectrum Center. She has been involved in many initiatives in the clinical care and research of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder working with Cure Autism Now, Autism Speaks, the Simons Foundation, the Nancy Lurie Marks foundation, the dup15q Alliance and the Child Neurology Foundation. Her clinical practice has been focused on autism and related neurodevelopmental disorders. The last few years she has been working to improve health care transition from pediatrics to adult providers by co-chairing the Massachusetts Initiative to Improve Health Care Transition for Individuals with Neurodevelopmental Disabilities. She has recently retired from clinical work to live with her very funny British husband on their 42-foot sailboat.