Autism Speaks Sponsors Bay Area Autism Conference

One-day conference highlights treatment strategies for children with autism spectrum disorders.

San Francisco, CA (PRWeb) March 5, 2007 -- JumpStart Learning to Learn (www.autismjumpstart.org) is hosting a conference on treatment strategies for young children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs). The conference, to be held at the San Mateo Marriott on March 9, is sponsored by Autism Speaks.

The one-day conference -- designed for parents, educators, behavioral therapists, speech and language pathologists, developmental disabilities specialists and students -- will highlight evidence-based, best practice treatment strategies for children with ASDs. ASDs now affect up to 1 in every 150 children.

Our hope is that by attending our conference we can offer these families information on effective intervention techniques that will help their child.

Featured speakers include internationally known autism specialists Bryna Siegel, PhD (Children's Center at Langley Porter/ UCSF Autism Clinic): Lynn Koegel, PhD (Koegel Autism Center, UCSB), Robert Koegel, PhD (Koegel Autism Center, UCSB), Pamela Wolfberg, PhD (San Francisco State University), and Glen Elliot, PhD, MD (The Children's Health Council at Stanford).

"An autism diagnosis can send a family into a tailspin," said Bryna Siegel, PhD. "Our hope is that by attending our conference we can offer these families information on effective intervention techniques that will help their child."

Bryna Siegel will deliver a keynote address, entitled: "Three Keys to Treating Autism: Curriculum, Development & Motivation -- What to Teach, When to Teach It and How to Get Children Interested in Learning." Other featured topics include: Matching Autistic Learning Disabilities and Autistic Learning Styles to Intervention Approaches; Visual Interaction Augmentation (a developmental-behavioral approach to communicating with pre-verbal children); Pivotal Response Treatments; Guiding Children with ASDs to Socialize and Play with Peers; and Medicating a Child with Autism.

The conference will be held from 8 AM to 4:30 PM at the San Mateo Marriott Hotel (1770 South Amphlett Blvd., San Mateo, CA.) A full conference agenda is available at www.autismjumpstart.org/conference.

Pre-registration and online payment can be made on the website. Because the conference is recognized by the Golden Gate Regional Center, any parents who purchase a service from the regional center may attend for free.

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