NYP Autism Awareness Virtual Fair 2022

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Introduction

• Tara Maloney LMHC, Program Director, Center for Autism and the Developing Brain

What is ABA? Is this therapy right for your child?

• Tobey Lass, M.Ed, BCBA, LBA- NY Clinical Director, Kids First Services ABA Department

What is Assistive Technology? What is available to help your child?

• Gemma White, CCC-SLP Assistive Technology Program Clinical Coordinator, Westchester Institute for Human Development

Q&A with Tobey Lass, M.Ed, BCBA, LBA- NY & Gemma White, CCC-SLP

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What Autism Speaks can do for you: Resources Available

• Andrew Nelson, Autism Speaks Response Team

Services available from New York City ACS

• Carli Ovadek LMSW, Developmental Disabilities Specialist, Developmental Disabilities Unit, Office of Child and Family Health, NYC Administration for Children's Services
• Yesenia "Jessie" Sanchez BPS, Developmental Disabilities Specialist, Developmental Disabilities Unit, Office of Child and Family Health, NYC Administration for Children's Services

Services available for families, what CADB can do for you

• Lissbeth Santos, Family Navigator, Center for Autism and the Developing Brain

Q&A with Andrew Nelson, Carli Ovadek LMSW, Yesenia "Jessie" Sanchez BPS, Lissbeth Santos

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Research on Family Stressors, how interventions can help

• Deanna Swain PhD, Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry Weill Cornell Medicine Center for Autism and the Developing Brain

Trajectories in autistic spectrum disorders

• Cynthia Martin PsyD, Clinical Psychologist Senior Director, Autism Center Child Mind Institute
• Adriana Di Martino MD, Research Director, Autism Center, Dr. John and Consuela Phelan Scholar, Senior Research Scientist, The Child Mind Institute

Q&A with Deanna Swain PhD, Cynthia Martin PsyD, Adriana Di Martino MD

Tara Maloney, LMHC, is the Program Director at NewYork-Presbyterian Center for Autism and the Developing Brain (CADB). She completed her Master’s degree at Iona College and is a practicing Licensed Mental Health Counselor in New York. Ms. Maloney began her career by supporting Westchester County’s youngest residents in the Early Intervention Program. Specifically, she specialized in explaining diagnostic evaluations and serving as an evaluation site representative at IFSP and CPSE meetings. Ms. Maloney has spent her career advocating for individuals with developmental disabilities and particularly those individuals diagnosed with ASD. She has served on the planning committee for the Westchester/Fairfield Autism Speaks Walks for several years and is an enthusiastic Team Captain for CADB. Ms. Maloney is co-founder and member of the Westchester Chapter of NYMHCA as well as a board member of the NYP Autism Task Force.

Tobey Lass, M.Ed, BCBA, LBA is a behavioral consultant in the New York Area. She graduated from Teachers College, Columbia University with a Masters in Early Childhood Intellectual Disability and Autism. Tobey has helped learners of all ages overcome behavioral challenges and acquire social and communication skills that will enable them to be an active participant in activities in their home and community. In addition, she provides parent coaching to teach families practical skills to address challenging behaviors at home. Tobey is currently the clinical director at Kids First- an agency that services the NY/NJ area providing ABA and related services. Kids First is, a leading New York State Agency providing the highest standard of care for our clients as well as on going staff training and supervision.

Tobey can be reached at Tlass@kidsfirstservices.com

Gemma White, CCC-SLP, Assistive Technology Program Clinical Coordinator, Westchester Institute for Human Development, is a speech-language pathologist with over 20 years of experience working with children and adults who use AAC systems. She graduated from the University College London in 2002. She opened her NYC-based private practice, A Spoonful of Sugar, in 2007. Gemma is affiliated with the American Speech and Hearing Association (ASHA) where she served on the Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) Special Interest Group 12: Professional Development Committee. Gemma is also a member of the Royal College of Speech Language Therapists (RCSLT) in the UK. Gemma has developed applications and shared her clinical expertise as a presenter for Apple run numerous continuing education courses for speech language pathologists and AT professionals presented for multidisciplinary audiences nationally and internationally. She is currently the Clinical Coordinator at WIHD Assistive Technology Program and continues to run A Spoon Fill of Sugar in NY.

Andrew Nelson, Ed.D., CCM is the Director of the Autism Response Team (ART) at Autism Speaks, where he and his team provide best-in-class information and referral resources for the autism community. Dr. Nelson, a Board-Certified Case Manager, has worked locally and globally to help grow autistic leadership, train others in self-advocacy principles, and teach theatre-based approaches in the autism community. He founded the Autism Theatre Network, is the author of several papers and chapters on autistic resilience, self-advocacy, theatre, and role play, and is currently researching emergency care and advanced care directive best practices for autistic individuals.    

Carli Ovadek LMSW, is a Developmental Disabilities Specialist in the Developmental Disabilities Unit of the Office of Child and Family Health, NYC Administration for Children's Services. The ACS DD Unit is a technical assistance Unit within ACS, providing support and guidance for children, youth, and parents where there is a suspicion or confirmed Developmental Disability and often some form of child welfare involvement."

Yesenia "Jessie" Sanchez, BPS, is a Developmental Disabilities Specialists with the Administration for Children’s Services’ Developmental Disabilities Unit. The ACS DD Unit is a technical assistance Unit within ACS, providing support and guidance for children, youth, and parents where there is a suspicion or confirmed Developmental Disability and often some form of child welfare involvement.

Lissbeth Santos is the Family Navigator at the Center for Autism and the Developing Brain. She earned her Bachelors in Sociology at the City college of New York. She has 6 + years of experience working in the social service. Lissbeth’s has primarily worked with families with children and adolescents doing Case Management/Case Planning work and providing resources. She was trained and certified as a SafeCare provider and provided parent training modules to parents of children 0-5 years old. She has worked with children with Autism in the past, and assisted parent with obtaining the appropriate services. Lissbeth has been working at CADB for a year and 3 months, and is passionate about helping families and assisting with navigating outside as well as internal services.

Deanna Swain, Ph.D. is a clinical psychologist specializing in the assessment and treatment of children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) at the NewYork-Presbyterian Center for Autism and the Developing Brain (CADB). She is also an Assistant Professor of Psychology in Clinical Psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medical College. Her primary research interests include family and systems level impact on parent-mediated interventions as well as a multi-method approach to measuring emotion regulation in parents and children with ASD. Dr. Swain has received specialized training in several naturalistic developmental behavioral interventions and conducts assessments with children and adolescents at CADB.

Cynthia Martin, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist and the clinical director of the Autism Center at the Child Mind Institute. She has expertise in autism, neurodevelopmental disorders and genetic conditions that affect development and behavior. Dr. Martin specializes in the comprehensive evaluation, early detection and evidence-based treatment of autism and related developmental disorders.

Adriana Di Martino, MD, is an internationally recognized autism researcher and the research director for the Autism Center at the Child Mind Institute. Dr. Di Martino’s research program places a particular emphasis on characterizing brain connectivity non-invasively during early, mid and later childhood in autism and other neurodevelopmental conditions. Dr. Di Martino’s overarching goal is to identify clinically meaningful biological markers that can support improvements in early interventions and the selection of treatments matched to each child’s needs.