Anxiety is one of the biggest challenges faced by children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders and Asperger syndrome. Help them conquer their fears - and participate more fully in home, school, and community life - with this innovative group therapy program for children 8–14 years old and their parents.
Facing Your Fears includes everything professionals need to run a successful program. With the Facilitator's Manual, group leaders will get complete guidance on conducting each session: clear step-by-step instructions, materials lists, goals, sample schedules, and helpful hints for running sessions smoothly.
The Parent Workbooks and Child Workbooks (sold separately in packs of 4) give children and families a wide variety of creative activities to help them fight fears and worries head-on, both inside and outside the group setting. And the included DVD inspires and motivates kids with sample movies of real children facing their fears.
Essential for every mental health professional working with children with ASD, this innovative program will help families struggling with the burdens of anxiety and increase children s odds for lifelong academic and social success.
Judy Reaven, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, JFK Partners, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine, 13121 East 17th Avenue, C-234, Aurora, Colorado 80045
Dr. Reaven is a licensed clinical psychologist and has been the director of the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Clinic of JFK Partners since 2001. She has worked in the field of developmental disabilities as a clinician, researcher, and educator since 1985. Clinical and research interests include the co-occurrence of mental health symptoms in children and adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), as well as the development of the Facing Your Fears program for anxiety symptoms in youth with anxiety and ASDs. She has authored a number of peer-reviewed research articles and has presented nationally and internationally on her clinical research.
Dr. Reaven has been Principal Investigator on several research projects funded by private foundations dedicated to autism research (Autism Speaks, Cure Autism Now, The Organization for Autism Research). She is currently the principal investigator on a federally funded project (National Institute of Mental Health), training outpatient clinicians to deliver the Facing Your Fears program to youth with anxiety and ASDs.
Audrey Blakeley-Smith, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Department of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, JFK Partners, University of Colorado, Anschutz Medical Campus, School of Medicine, 13121 East 17th Avenue, C-234, Aurora, Colorado 80045
Dr. Blakeley-Smith is a licensed clinical psychologist and has worked in the field of developmental disabilities since 1996. Current research interests include the assessment and treatment of comorbid mental health issues in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and the development of peer-mediated interventions in school settings. She is a co-investigator on a National Institute of Mental Health study to train outpatient clinicians in the delivery of the Facing Your Fears program. She is also a clinician on a Health Resources and Services Administration-funded study using telemedicine as a medium to treat anxiety in children with ASDs in underserved communities in Colorado. Dr. Blakeley-Smith is currently the principal investigator on a school-based study exploring the use of peer-mediated interventions to reduce rejection and increase inclusion of children with ASDs, funded by The Organization for Autism Research.
Shana Nichols, Ph.D., Founder and Director, ASPIRE Center for Learning and Development, 63 Old East Neck Road, Melville, New York 11747
Dr. Nichols is a licensed clinical psychologist and researcher and has worked in the field of autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and child development since the mid-1990s. She has received research and service grant support for work in sexuality, puberty, healthy lifestyles, and ASDs, and is the author of several peer-reviewed research articles and invited papers.
Dr. Nichols currently specializes in adolescence and growing up, dual diagnosis and mental health, assessment and evaluation, and the experiences of females with ASDs. She is lead author of the book Girls Growing Up on the Autism Spectrum: What Parents Should Know About the Pre-teen and Teenage Years (Jessica Kingsley, 2008), with Gina Marie Moravcik and Samara Pulver Tetenbaum. Dr. Nichols has worked as a clinician, researcher, administrator, graduate training supervisor, advisory board member, trainer, and consultant in a wide variety of settings including outpatient clinics, residential programs, schools, and the community.
