Autism and Trauma: Understanding the Trends and Realities to Provide a Clinically Responsive Treatment Approach- Live Event
Live Event

Autism and Trauma: Understanding the Trends and Realities to Provide a Clinically Responsive Treatment Approach- Live Event

Fri, Jul 18th, 2025
11:00am – 2:15pm US Eastern Time
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About the Event

Individuals with autism have an increased tendency to experience trauma and post-traumatic disorder compared with the general population. Dealing with trauma and its effects can be multi-faceted and devastating for those who have experienced a traumatic event or circumstance. For those with autism, experiences with trauma may be different and processing and treating trauma may also require an added layer of specialized support. This training will discuss trauma experiences, as well as trauma expressions and responses among individuals with autism. Best practices and implications for practice will be discussed.

Live Event
This live online event will be held as a Zoom Webinar. Attendees will have the option to interact through features such as the Chat and Q&A, but cameras and microphones will not be enabled.

Live Event Instructor

Christina Marsack-Topolewski

Christina Marsack-Topolewski

Dr. Christina Marsack-Topolewski is an associate professor of Social Work in the College of Health and Human Services at Eastern Michigan University. Dr. Marsack-Topolewski received her PhD in Social Work with a dual title in Gerontology from Wayne State University. She has worked with individuals with various intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) for 20 years. Her research focuses on individuals with autism and other neurodevelopmental disabilities, their caregivers, advance care planning, the service delivery model, and service utilization. She has over 90 publications in national and international journals and encyclopedias, mainly focusing on individuals with IDDs, caregiving, as well as services and supports. In addition, she has presented her work locally, nationally, and internationally.

Target Audience

This live interactive webinar is intended for behavioral health professionals, including Psychologists, Social Workers, Counselors, MFT's and Addiction Professionals.

Learning Objectives

After taking this activity, you should be able to:

  1. 1 Explain the prevalence of trauma as experienced by individuals with autism.
  2. 2 Identify reasons for increased trauma experiences among individuals with autism.
  3. 3 Develop strategies to support individuals with autism who have experienced trauma.

Andrzejewski, T., Gomez Batista, S., Abu-Ramadan, T., Breitenfeldt, K. E., Tassone, A. U., Winch, A., ... & McDonnell, C. G. (2024). Examining rates of traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder symptoms among autistic adults. Autism in Adulthood, 6(3), 374-387. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2023.0022

Dodds, R. L. (2021). An exploratory review of the associations between adverse experiences and autism. Journal of Aggression, Maltreatment & Trauma, 30(8), 1093-1112. https://doi.org/10.1080/10926771.2020.1783736

Fulton, R., Reardon, E., Kate, R., & Jones, R. (2020). Sensory trauma: Autism, sensory difference and the daily experience of fear. Autism Wellbeing CIC.

Golan, O., Haruvi-Lamdan, N., Laor, N., & Horesh, D. (2022). The comorbidity between autism spectrum disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder is mediated by brooding rumination. Autism, 26(2), 538-544. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613211035240

Haruvi-Lamdan, N., Horesh, D., Zohar, S., Kraus, M., & Golan, O. (2020). Autism spectrum disorder and post-traumatic stress disorder: An unexplored co-occurrence of conditions. Autism, 24(4), 884-898. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361320912143

Hoover, D. W. (2020). Trauma in children with neurodevelopmental disorders: Autism, intellectual disability, and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Childhood Trauma in Mental Disorders: A Comprehensive Approach, 367-383. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-49414-8_17

Kerns, C. M., Berkowitz, S. J., Moskowitz, L. J., Drahota, A., Lerner, M. D., Usual Care for Autism Study (UCAS) Consortium, & Newschaffer, C. J. (2020). Screening and treatment of trauma-related symptoms in youth with autism spectrum disorder among community providers in the United States. Autism, 24(2), 515-525. https://doi.org/10.1177/1362361319847908

Kerns, C. M., Lankenau, S., Shattuck, P. T., Robins, D. L., Newschaffer, C. J., & Berkowitz, S. J. (2022). Exploring potential sources of childhood trauma: A qualitative study with autistic adults and caregivers. Autism, 26(8), 1987-1998. https://doi.org/10.1177/13623613211070637

Reuben, K. E., Stanzione, C. M., & Singleton, J. L. (2021). Interpersonal trauma and posttraumatic stress in autistic adults. Autism in adulthood, 3(3), 247-256. https://doi.org/10.1089/aut.2020.0073

Rumball, F., Brook, L., Happé, F., & Karl, A. (2021). Heightened risk of posttraumatic stress disorder in adults with autism spectrum disorder: The role of cumulative trauma and memory deficits. Research in Developmental Disabilities, 110, 103848. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ridd.2020.103848

Disclosure to Learners

CE Learning Systems adheres to the ACCME's Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Medical Education. Any individuals in a position to control the content of a CE activity – including faculty, planners, reviewers, or others ― are required to disclose all relevant financial relationships with ineligible entities (formerly known as commercial interests).

The following relevant financial relationships have been disclosed by this activity's planners, faculty, and the reviewer:

Planners and Reviewers

The planners of this activity have reported that they have no relevant financial relationships.

Faculty

There are no known relevant financial relationships to disclose.

Commercial support

There is no commercial support for this distance-learning course.

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Joint Accreditation (JA)

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Eligible until Jul 19th, 2025
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American Psychological Association (APA)

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Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB ACE)

3 CE credit hours Clinical
Eligible until Jul 19th, 2025
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, CE Learning Systems LLC 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 3 clinical continuing education credit(s).
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3 CE credit hours
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Impact CE, a service of CE learning Systems, is approved by the Florida Certification Board (FCB) to offer continuing education programs (Provider # 5069A).
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Missouri Credentialing Board (MCB)

3 CE credit hours
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AddictionCounselorCE is an approved provider of the Missouri Substance Abuse Professional Credentialing Board (Provider #101). AddictionCounselorCE maintains responsibility for this course and its contents.
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New York Education Department Board of Social Work

3 contact hours
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CE Learning Systems, LLC, (d/b/a impactce.com) is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers. Provider #0060.
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Event Agenda

Agenda times are listed in US Eastern Time. That is 3 hours later than US Pacific Time. The event starts at 8:00am US Pacific Time.

11:00 - 11:30am: Welcome, Introduction, Orientation to the Topic

11:30am - 12:00pm: What is trauma? How does it impact individuals with autism?

12:00 - 12:30pm: Prevalence and co-occurring conditions related to trauma; trauma experiences


12:30 - 12:45pm: Break


12:45 - 1:15pm: Case scenario; understanding trauma experiences for people with autism

1:15 - 2:00pm: Best practice and implications for practice in supporting and treating trauma experienced by populations with autism

2:00 - 2:15pm: Recap; Q & A

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Frequently Asked Questions

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