Clinical Care for Autistic Adults
- Continuing Education
Start Today Register and begin immediately.
Gain the skills, strategies, and confidence to provide personalized, equitable care for autistic adults by enrolling in this expert-led course designed to transform how clinicians support patients with autism across the lifespan.
- Live Online
This course is offered on demand and participants progress through the materials at their own pace.
Continuing Education Credits
Earn up to:
6.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s) ™
6.25 ANCC contact hours
6.25 ASWB CE Credits
View All
On This Page
Overview
Given the challenges of caring for adults with autism, many physicians and clinicians find themselves underprepared for the complexity of diagnoses, the diversity of presentations, and the coordination of care. The Clinical Care for Autistic Adults course, is led by nationally recognized experts, with extensive expertise caring for adults with autism.
If you provide care for, or are preparing to welcome patients with Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) into your practice, this course will prove invaluable. It will inform and inspire you, and you will be empowered to provide personalized care for people with autism and their families.
Adult Autism Health Resources: This site supports caregivers and advocates in exploring vetted and actionable information around important health needs for autistic individuals.
Course Goals:
- Recognize the range of needs that ASD presents across the spectrum and lifespan.
- Examine the gaps that exist for support of adult patients with ASD.
- Identify key team members in the ongoing support of patients with ASD from childhood through adulthood.
- Apply best practices and strategies to better support patients during adult primary and specialist visits, screenings, and medical procedures.
- Develop and utilize communication protocols to increase the effectiveness of transitions of care.
Acknowledgement
Harvard Medical School Continuing Education gratefully acknowledges the Nancy Lurie Marks Family Foundation for their generous grant support of this educational activity.
Learning Objectives
- Describe the diversity of presentations of autism.
- Identify common symptoms of co-occurring medical conditions.
- Explain how age, levels of independence of individuals with ASD, and guardianship can affect a patient’s medical care.
- Describe the diagnostic criteria and process for ASD.
- Outline treatment or management of co-occurring conditions across the lifespan.
- Describe clinician obligations to patients under ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act).
Developed and Offered By:
Continuing Education courses are developed by faculty from Harvard Medical School's teaching hospitals and accredited by Harvard Medical School. This course is offered by Massachusetts General Hospital.
Schedule
All agenda sessions are in Eastern Time.
Outline
Module 1: Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
James Bath; Timothy Buie; Beth Malow; Christopher McDougle; Lisa Nowinski; Anne Plante; Sarah Spence; Robyn Thom
Module 2: Adults with ASD
James Bath; Timothy Buie; Lisa Nowinski; Robyn Thom; Karen Turner
Module 3: Transitions of Care
James Bath; Christopher McDougle; Terri Farrell; Robyn Thom; Beth Malow; Karen Turner; Julie O'Brien; Nicole Simon
Module 4: Building a Care Team
Christopher McDougle; Terri Farrell; Karen Turner; Julie O'Brien; Beth Malow
Posttest Questions
Additional Outline Details
Module 1: Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD)
- Introduction and Learning Goals
- Misconceptions and Facts about ASD
- Core Presentations of ASD and Diagnostic Criteria
- Diagnostic Overshadowing
- Medical and Psychiatric Comorbidities
- Prevalent Conditions: Primer Series
- Case Studies
- Reflection Activity
- Toolkit and Resources
Module 2: Adults with ASD
- Introduction and Learning Goals
- Informed Consent and Shared Decision-Making
- Accommodations, Communication, and Trauma-Informed Care
- Step-by-Step Wellness Visit
- Preventive Health: Procedures and Screening
- Preventive Health: Nutrition and Physical Activity
- ASD-Responsive Preventive Health
- Case Study
- Reflection Activity
- Toolkit and Resources
Module 3: Transitions of Care
- Introduction and Learning Goals
- Health Care Transitions
- Social Transitions
- Telehealth
- Emergency Department Care
- Patient Safety and Crisis Prevention
- Reflection Activity
- Case Study
- Toolkit and Resources
Module 4: Building a Care Team
- Introduction and Learning Goals
- ASD Advocacy Team Building
- Roles on a Care Team
- Extending Your Network
- Reflection Activity
- Toolkit and Resources
Faculty
Harvard Medical School Continuing Education attracts the best and brightest faculty from all around the world. As a student in this course, you’ll have access to outstanding course directors and faculty.
Christopher McDougle, MD
Course Director
- Director, Lurie Center for Autism
- Nancy Lurie Marks Professor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
James Bath, MD
Director of Primary Care Medicine, Lurie Center for Autism
Timothy Buie, MD
Pediatric Gastroenterologist, Children’s Hospital Boston
Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, Harvard Medical School
Terri Farrell, MBA
Project Director, Insurance Resource Center for Autism and Behavioral Health at UMass Chan Medical School’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center
Beth Malow, MD, MS
Director, Sleep Disorders Division Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Burry Chair of Cognitive Childhood Development and Professor of Neurology and Pediatrics, Vanderbilt University School of Medicine
Lisa Nowinski, PhD
Clinical Director of Non-Physician Services, Lurie Center for Autism
Instructor of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School
Julie O’Brien, MEd, LMHC
Family Support Clinician, Lurie Center for Autism
Anne Plante, MD
Medical Director of Resident Gynecology Practice, Massachusetts General Hospital
Assistant Professor of Obstetrics, Gynecology, and Reproductive Biology, Harvard Medical School
Nicole Simon, EdM, LABA, BCBA
Senior Behavioral Consultant, Lurie Center for Autism
Sarah Spence, MD
Assistant, Department of Neurology and Co-Director, Autism Spectrum Center, Boston Children’s Hospital
Assistant Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School
Robyn Thom, MD
Psychiatrist, Lurie Center for Autism
Co-Director, Massachusetts General Hospital Williams Syndrome Program
Assistant Professor, Harvard Medical School
Karen Turner, MS, OTR/L
Patient Navigator for Autism and Developmental Disorders, Massachusetts General Hospital
Request Information
Interested in learning more about this program? Sign up for details.
Course Fees
Fee Disclaimer
You may register through our secure online environment and will receive an email confirmation upon receipt of your payment.
At the end of the registration process, a $5 non-refundable processing fee will be added to your registration. Because online course materials can be accessed immediately, refunds are not permitted.
| Role | Standard Price |
|---|---|
| Physician (MD/DO) | $15.00 |
| Nurse (RN/APRN) | $15.00 |
| PA | $15.00 |
| Resident/Fellow | $15.00 |
| Allied Health Professional / Other | $15.00 |
Accreditation
The Harvard Medical School designates this enduring material for a maximum of 6.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should claim only the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Harvard Medical School designates this enduring material for a maximum of 6.25 ANCC contact hours.
The National Commission on Certification of Physician Assistants (NCCPA) states that AMA PRA Category 1 Credits™ are acceptable for continuing medical education requirements for recertification. We would also suggest that learners check with their state licensing board to ensure they accept reciprocity with AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™ for re-licensure.
The American Medical Association (AMA) has an agreement of mutual recognition of continuing medical education (CME) credit with the European Union of Medical Specialties (UEMS). Additional information regarding this agreement may be found on the European Union of Medical Specialties website.
The Royal College of Physicians and Surgeons of Canada recognizes conferences and workshops held outside of Canada that are developed by a university, academy, hospital, specialty society or college as accredited group learning activities.
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, Harvard Medical School is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 6.25 continuing education credits.