About the presentation:
This presentation will focus on a variety of biological, medical and psychiatric conditions that may act as setting events or establishing operations for challenging behavior. Specifically, the role that psychotropic medication can play in addressing the mental health needs of individuals with autism will be discussed. In addition, we will look at some biological interventions that may or may not be very promising in the treatment of problem behavior.
Learning Objectives
At the conclusion of the presentation, the participants will be able to:
• Attendees will learn how certain biobehavioral antecedent or setting event conditions can affect problem behavior and how they can evaluate them.
• Attendees will receive information on current psychotropic medications being used to treat problem behavior and how their effects can be effectively measured.
• Attendees will look at how some “alternative” biological treatments for problem behavior may or may not have some promise in the treatment of problem behavior.
About the presenter:
Jennifer Zarcone is the Senior Vice President for Adult Clinical Services and Training at May Institute. Dr. Zarcone provides consultation and clinical support to staff around severe problem behavior, staff and parent training, and medication monitoring. Dr. Zarcone obtained her doctoral degree from the Experimental Analysis of Behavior program at the University of Florida, Department of Psychology, in 1993. She is a Board Certified Behavior Analyst and a licensed psychologist. Dr. Zarcone has served as a co-investigator on several multi-center clinical trials in autism research at the University of Rochester Medical Center, and on self-injury at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. She is interested in further development of research in the effects of pharmacological and behavioral interventions in the treatment of severe behavior disorders as well as repetitive behavior disorders in individuals with autism. Dr. Zarcone has served in leadership positions for the Association of Behavior Analysis (ABAI) on the ABAI Practice Board, and she is a current member of the Science Board. She was the conference coordinator for the annual Autism Conference and a Fellow of ABAI. She served as an associate editor for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis, and is currently an associate editor for the Journal of Intellectual Disabilities Research, and the American Journal of Developmental Disabilities. She is serving as Guest Editor for the Behavior Analysis in Practice special issue on Diversity and Inclusion. In addition, Dr. Zarcone is currently on the advisory boards for the Women in Behavior analysis Conference and the Gatlinburg Conference for Research in Developmental Disabilities.