Skip to main content
ABCT 2023 Annual Convention Main banner
Final Program


Program Flipbook
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
Ticketed Session
Ticketed Session
Recorded Session
Recorded Session
Back
Evaluation ViewAttendees 14

Clinical Round Tables

Autism Spectrum and Developmental Disorders

Session: Collaborating with Caregivers in Behavioral and Mental Health Intervention Delivery for Youth with Intellectual Disabilities: Celebrating the Strengths of Families and Addressing Barriers To Care

Clinical Round Table 11 - Collaborating with Caregivers in Behavioral and Mental Health Intervention Delivery for Youth with Intellectual Disabilities: Celebrating the Strengths of Families and Addressing Barriers to Care

Saturday, November 18, 2023
8:30 AM – 10:00 AM PST
Location: Tahuya (508), Level 5
Earn 1.5 Credit
Keywords: Developmental Disabilities, Underserved Populations, Stakeholder Relevant
Recommended Readings: Blakeley-Smith, A., Meyer, A.T., Boles, R., & Reaven, J. (2021) Group Cognitive Behavioral Treatment for Anxiety in Adolescents with ASD and Intellectual Disability: A Pilot and Feasibility Study. Journal of Applied Research in Intellectual Disability.https://doi.org/10.1111/jar.12854,   Beck, K. B., Northrup, J. B., Breitenfeldt, K. E., Porton, S., Day, T. N., MacKenzie, K. T., ... & Mazefsky, C. A. (2022). Stakeholder informed development of the Emotion Awareness and Skills Enhancement team–based program (EASE-Teams). Autism, 26(3), 586-600.,   Moskowitz, L. J., Walsh, C. E., Mulder, E., Magito McLaughlin, D., Hajcak, G., Carr, E. G., & Zarcone, J. R. (2017). Intervention for anxiety and problem behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder and intellectual disability. Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 47, 3930-3948. doi: 10.1007/s10803-017-3070-z,   ,  
Youth with intellectual disabilities (ID) experience elevated rates of co-occurring mental health conditions (i.e., 30-40%) and reduced access to behavioral and mental health care. Caregivers voice concern regarding their child’s limited service access, unmet mental health needs, and over reliance on medication management. Although their understanding of the complexity of their child’s abilities uniquely position them as intervention collaborators, caregivers historically have been excluded from interventions, resulting in a disconnect from mental health care systems. Fortunately, the field of mental health for youth with ID is shifting from a "parent training" model to a model of caregivers as intervention collaborators. This shift empowers caregivers to be integral to intervention decision-making and adaptations. Yet, inclusion of caregivers in intervention is not without complication; clinicians need to also facilitate youth independence, rather than over reliance on caregivers, and  support family strengths, which may include youth's desire for autonomy. In this clinical round table, panelists will discuss strengths and areas of need in behavioral and mental health work with caregivers of youth with ID. Panelists have collaborated with caregivers in the following treatment programs: CBT for anxiety in autistic teens with ID (Facing Your Fears [FYF], ABS), mindfulness for autistic teens/young adults with ID an English and Spanish caregiver-focused behavioral intervention for youth with Down Syndrome (AM), and a parent-mediated, telehealth behavioral intervention for autistic youth with ID (LM). In addition, a caregiver will share their lived experience as a collaborator in the FYF study.
Panelists will discuss the importance of honoring family strengths and knowledge of youth with complex mental health, cognitive, and linguistic skills; focusing on strategies that support the move from over reliance on caregivers for emotion regulation to caregiver-supported implementation of strategies; and empowering caregivers to support further tailoring of interventions to best address the unique learning style and skills of youth with ID.

Learning Objectives:

At the end of the session, the learner will be able to:
  • Identify methods to incorporate strengths of youth with ID into interventions.
  • Identify strategies to support caregiver collaboration with clinicians in treatment for youth with ID.
  • Identify methods to balance caregiver participation and youth independence in interventions.
  • List empirical studies that highlight caregiver-clinician collaboration for youth with ID.
  • Have insight on a caregiver's experience collaborating with clinicians in their child's intervention.
  • Identify collaboration approaches in tailoring intervention strategies to a child's learning profile.
  • Identify different caretaker collaboration strategies for live vs telehealth interventions.