Webinar

An Introduction to Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in Young Children: Part I

This offering is Part I of a two-part series. We encourage participants to consider attending Part II of the series, as well, on April 30, 2026 from 11:30 AM - 1:00 PM ET. Attendance of one training is not required to attend the other. Click here to register for Part II.

This presentation will challenge dated notions that autism is a disorder of behavior or a disorder of attachment and recognize that autism has varied expressions (spectrum) reflecting human neurodiversity.  Autism spectrum disorder is a neurodevelopmental condition, with likely genetic origins, affecting the structure and function of the brain which controls reasoning, problem solving, memory, communication, sensory processing, regulation and motor planning. Autism presents along a continuum of severity and affects 1 in 34 four-year-olds. Boys are three times more likely to be diagnosed than girls and approximately 27% of diagnosed children present with profound autism. 

In Part I, of this two-part series, the presenters will review the symptom profile of autism spectrum disorder and early atypical autism spectrum disorder (EAASD), the latter, recognized to promote earlier identification (as young as nine months of age) and referral within the age window of Early Intervention services. Among the topics to be reviewed include: early signs, recent literature on biological markers for ASD subtypes, hypothetical causes, prevalence and the   dramatic increase in diagnoses.  Autism is a complex disorder of relating and communicating best understood and treated from a multidisciplinary perspective-the prism through which this webinar is formulated and presented.

Learning objectives
As an outcome of attending this presentation, participants will be able to:

  1. Describe the cardinal features of ASD and EAASD
  2. Differentiate the early signs and symptom profiles of ASD and EAASD  
  3. Discuss the current understandings of neurodiversity, etiology and biological markers of ASD subtypes
  4. Present current prevalence data and theories for the dramatic increase in diagnoses
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