La Salle University Digital Commons

Event Title

Academic, Social and Self-Advocacy Goals for College Students with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Presenter Information

Julia Grayer, Drexel UniversityFollow
Kate Altman MS, Chestnut Hill CollegeFollow
Felicia Hurewitz PhD, Drexel UniversityFollow
Katherine K. Dahlsgaard PhD

Event Website

http://www.pages.drexel.edu/~fdh23/

Start Date

3-5-2013 2:15 PM

End Date

3-5-2013 3:30 PM

Brief Biography

Julia Grayer is a psychology master’s student in Dr. Felicia Hurewitz’s lab at Drexel University. Before arriving at Drexel, Julia received her bachelor’s degree in psychology from Haverford College and worked as a school and home-based behavior therapist for children and adults on the autism spectrum. Julia also currently works in the special needs department of the Katz Jewish Community Center. Julia has made a number of documentary films highlighting the abilities of individuals with developmental differences, and recently taught a ten-week video workshop to teenagers on the autism spectrum.

Description

We present two studies that examine the needs of college students with ASD from the student perspective. First we report on the types of self-determined goals students with ASD create, alongside peer mentors, to help them reach social, academic and self-advocacy goals. Our focus here is to determine if there is close a correspondence between students' perceived needs, and needs as determined by standardized measures and the perceptions of the peer mentors. In addition we will present "real life" narratives from students with ASD about their social experiences and successes in college and their choices around the issue of self-disclosure/self-advocacy.

Other Presenter Biographies

Kate Altman, M.S., is a doctoral candidate in Chestnut Hill College’s Psy.D. program. Her dissertation research involved lengthy one-on-one interviews with college students with ASD, focusing on their perception of what helped them to be successful in the social realm. Ms. Altman is on internship at the Virginia Beach City Public Schools, where she conducts developmental assessments on young children and specializes in working with children and adolescents on the autism spectrum. Ms. Altman has worked primarily with children, adolescents, and adults with ASD, most recently as a therapist at Alternative Choices in Philadelphia, PA.

Felicia Hurewitz, Ph.D., is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychology of Drexel University. After receiving her doctorate in Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania, she attended postdoctoral training at the Rutgers University Institute for Research in Cognitive Science as a fellow from the National Academy of Education/Spencer foundation. She is the director and founder of the Drexel Autism Support Program, an office that trains peer mentors to work with students with autism spectrum disorders, in addition to providing direct supports and community awareness seminars.

Katherine K. Dahlsgaard, Ph.D., is Lead Psychologist at the Anxiety Behaviors Clinic (ABC), Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at CHOP. She is a licensed clinical psychologist in Pennsylvania and New York with expertise in cognitive-behavioral therapy for children, adolescents, and young adults. She specializes in the evaluation and treatment of anxiety disorders, particularly Social Anxiety Disorder, Selective Mutism, Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, Phobias, Panic Disorders, and generalized fears.