Depression and suicide ideation are are on the list of things we wish we did not have to know more about, but as parents and educators, it is an area that we need to be more informed about – knowledge is empowering!

Autism College in partnership with the National Autism Association (NAA) is presenting a series of free on-line conference webinars on Autism Safety and Crisis Prevention,  sponsored in part by The Social Express.

On Wednesday, February 15, 6:00pm to 7:30pm PST (9:00pm to 10:30pm EST) Dr. Joshua Feder will be addressing this topic. To register for free, go here.

Here is some information as to what this webinar will cover:

Presentation Topic: The Problem of Depression and Suicidal Ideation in Autism and Related Disorders

  • How often do we think it occurs?
  • How serious is it?
  • How do we distinguish serious symptoms from everyday frustration?
  • What are the risk factors? Are they similar to the general population, e.g. depression, loss, and substance use?
  • What should we look for?  Learning to read the cues.
  • When should we be very worried? Does the driven quality of those with ASDs make people more at-risk?
  • What can we do: in everyday life to help prevent depression; when people are sad;
  • How can we use the mental health system?  Are therapies or medications effective? Are there other ways to address depression in ASD?

Dr. Joshua Feder is the Director of the Department of Research in the Graduate School of the Interdisciplinary Council on Developmental and Learning Disorders, and a voluntary assistant professor at UCSD School of Medicine.  Dr. Feder specializes in neurobehavioral medicine and application of DIR/Floortime with families and in schools.  He co-chairs the DIR/Floortime Coalition of California, and co-chairs the South Counties Autism Regional Taskforce (SCART) of the California Senate Select Committee on Autism & Related Disorders. Dr. Feder helped write the American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry (AACAP) Practice Parameter for Assessment and Treatment of Autism and Related Disorders. He reviews grants for the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) and the National Foundation for Autism Research (NFAR), is a primary clinical investigator for National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH) and privately funded research in pharmacogenetics with the Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Trials Network (CAPTN).  Dr. Feder serves as medical director for SymPlay developing interactive technology and distance learning systems to support relationship based interventions.  He is involved in advocacy for family choice in evidence-based practice, and he is a frequent commentator and speaker for ValeriesList and for Autism College. Dr. Feder has a full time child and family psychiatric practice in Solana Beach, California.

Register here for the conference.