Trauma-Focused Therapy for Autistic Children: Using EMDR, TF-CBT and Sensorimotor Therapy with Kids and Teens on the Spectrum

CPD

Planning Committee Disclosure - No relevant relationships

All members of the PESI, Inc. planning committee have provided disclosures of financial relationships with ineligible organizations and any relevant non-financial relationships prior to planning content for this activity. None of the committee members had relevant financial relationships with ineligible companies or other potentially biasing relationships to disclose to learners.  For speaker disclosures, please see the faculty biography.

Handouts

Speaker

Sean Inderbitzen, DSW, LCSW, MINT Related seminars and products

DBA Inderbitzen Consulting Services LLC

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Sean Inderbitzen, LCSW, MINT, has lived 32 years with autism spectrum disorder and is an active clinical social worker within a community health center, specializing in the treatment of autism and co-occurring trauma. He is a doctoral student at Tulane University’s School of Social Work and is a collaborator on two studies for the treatment of PTSD in children with autism, one on utilizing modified EMDR and the other on Sensorimotor Psychotherapy (SP). He works closely with Sensorimotor Psychotherapy Institute on the SP study under the research and clinical guidance of Dr. Bonnie Goldstein, author of the new and upcoming book (co-authored with Dr. Pat Ogden) A Comprehensive Guide to Sensorimotor Psychotherapy with Children, Adolescents, and Families (Norton Interpersonal Neurobiology Series, In Press). With Respect to the EMDR study, Sean is under the research direction of Dr. Bruce Thyer, BCBA-D, LCSW, a distinguished research professor from Florida State University, a member of the Tulane Traumatology Institute, and chief editor of Journal of Research in Social Work Practice and co-editor of the Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal.

Speaker Disclosures:
Financial: Sean Inderbitzen is a consultant and has an employment relationship with Northlakes Community Clinic. He receives a speaking honorarium and recording royalties from PESI, Inc. He has no relevant financial relationships with ineligible organizations.
Non-financial: Sean Inderbitzen is an adult who is on the autism spectrum.

Objectives

1. Apply a Polyvagal Model of autism to the treatment of ASD and PTSD.
2. Develop differential diagnostic practices to prevent diagnostic overshadowing between PTSD, OCD and ASD.
3. Use social stories to help individuals with ASD process thoughts and feelings about their trauma and learn coping skills.
4. Use simplified language to overcome deficits in expressive and receptive language differences and ensure comprehension when teaching breathing and relaxation techniques to neurodiverse clients.
5. Investigate the research limitations of applying trauma treatment techniques to children and adolescents with trauma.
6. Apply specific modifications to adapt EMDR, TF-CBT and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy for use with children and adolescents with autism and PTSD.

Outline

• What is the window of tolerance and its relevance to Polyvagal theory?
• Rethinking autism: A Polyvagal Model of autism
• Implications of trauma on executive dysfunction and memory
• A case study of an autistic child with PTSD and dissociative amnesia

• Diagnostic criteria for ASD
• Diagnostic overshadowing in ASD, Obsessive Compulsive Disorder and PTSD
• Applying Polyvagal theory to the intersection of a state specific model of autism
• Implications to diagnosis and treatment of autism and PTSD

• EMDR protocol walkthrough
• Visual aids for improved psychoeducation on trauma symptoms
• Adapting social stories to the treatment of trauma in children with ASD
• Using tapping for simple stress reduction
• Case study
• Research and limitations

• Mindful awareness of the body – helping kids with autism identify triggers
• Modified mindfulness exercises to activate calm in children with ASD and PTSD
• Simplified language to teach deep breathing and relaxation techniques
• Case study
• Research and limitations

• Modifications for using Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral therapy
  • Strategies to increase generalization
  • Tips for overcoming concrete thinking
  • Integrating visual learning to illustrate points
• Deepening TF-CBT practices with motivational interviewing
• Research and limitations
• Applying EMDR, TF-CBT, and Sensorimotor Psychotherapy to a state specific model of ASD

Target Audience

• Counselors
• Social Workers
• Psychologists
• Case Managers
• Physicians
• Addiction Counselors
• Therapists
• Marriage & Family Therapists
• Nurses
• Other Mental Health Professionals