*SAVE THE DATE*

March 13th, 2012

Working Conference

Self Determination *

Standards-Based Conceptual Framework

Interagency Collaboration

Conversation with Employers

Problem Solving Local Issues

University of California, Davis -MIND Institute

2825 50th Street Sacramento, CA 95817

For more information: Wilbert Francis, UCLA Tarjan Center, wfrancis@mednet.ucla.edu, (310) 206-2626.

The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that nearly 1% of children across the country have some form of autism — 20 times the prevailing figure in the 1980s. The increase has stirred fears of an epidemic and mobilized researchers to figure out what causes the brain disorder and why it appears to be affecting so many more children.

Two decades into the boom, however, the balance of evidence suggests that it is more a surge in diagnosis than in disease. The Times explored the phenomenon and its repercussions. http://www.latimes.com/news/local/autism/

Dr. Mundy provided a comprehensive history of autism and the role of joint attention as an indicator of autism and social impairments. Joint attention is a pivotal, gateway behavior, as it plays a key role in learning. Problems in joint attention lead to difficulties in learning both language and social skills. Dr. Mundy then went on to discuss the research-based interventions for school-age children and older children. There is still much work to be done in this area and Dr. Mundy is currently working on a virtual reality research project to help children and young adults learns these skills in a simulated environment.

For more information on the talk, contact Katrina Ferreyra, MAC Coordinator, at kferreyra@lifehouseagency.org.