The seventh annual Topics in Child Development Conference: Effective Use of Behavioral Interventions for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders will be held at Kent State University June 26-27 in the Kent State Student Center.

The conference will focus on behavioral approaches to intervention that can assist in enhancing existing skills and building new skills to promote success across multiple settings. Regional, state and national leaders in autism spectrum disorders will provide strategies, insights and research-based information valuable to implementing an assessment-driven model of intervention.

The June 26 session will be held from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. and is geared toward families of children with autism spectrum disorders and will feature Dr. Nevada Reed from KidsLink Neurobehavioral Center. Reed will speak about Understanding How Medications Work and Collaborating with Teams to Make Them Effective.

The June 27 presentation will be held from 8:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. and will feature Dr. V. Mark Durand, from the University of South Florida, St. Petersburg. Durand will address the topic of Functional Communication Training to Reduce and Prevent Challenging Behavior.

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Media contact:

Rachel Wenger-Pelosi, 330-672-8046 or rwenger@kent.edu