Neurogenetic Syndromes: Behavioral Issues and Their Treatment

In a Nutshell - a collection of current knowledge on neurobehavioral disorders, this book explores phenotypes and the genetic background of disorders, and applies this foundational knowledge to current treatment and therapy practices. This book, derived from the 2008 Spectrum Conference, focuses on neurobehavioral disorders and the influence of genetics in particular. It provides foundational information for clinicians and examines behavioral and psychological phenotypes in specific neurobehavioral disorders including Down Syndrome, Fragile X, Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, Prader-Willi Syndrome, Smith Magenis Syndrome, and Williams Syndrome, among others. The final section of the book applies genetic insights and the disorder-specific background as a framework for evaluating challenges and promise in intervention.

Bruce K. Shapiro, M.D., is Professor of Pediatrics, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, The Arnold J. Capute, M.D., M.P.H. Chair in Neurodevelopmental Disabilities, and Vice President of Training, The Kennedy Krieger Institute, Baltimore, Maryland.

Pasquale J. Accardo, M.D., is Professor of Pediatrics at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. He received his medical degree from Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, New York; completed his pediatric residency at James Whitcomb Riley Hospital for Children, Indiana University School of Medicine, Indianapolis, and obtained his developmental pediatrics training at the John F. Kennedy Institute for Handicapped Children (now called the Kennedy Krieger Institute), an affiliate of Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland. He is subcertified in neurodevelopmental disabilities in pediatrics by the American Board of Pediatrics. Dr. Accardo is the author and editor of several books including Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder: The Clinical Spectrum (York Press, 2001); Austim: Clinical and Research Issues (York Press, 2000), and Developmental Disabilities in Infancy and Childhood, Second Edition, Volumes I and II (Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co., 1996).

Peter Szatmari, M.D.
Professor, Department of Psychology
McMaster University
Hamilton, Ontario, Canada

Travis Thompson, Ph.D., L.P., Graduate Faculty Member, Special Education Program, Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, and Consulting Psychologist, Minnesota Early Autism Project, 7242 Forestview Lane North, Maple Grove, Minnesota 55369

Dr. Thompson is affiliated with the Autism Certificate Program in the Special Education Program of the Department of Educational Psychology at the University of Minnesota, and he is Adjunct Professor in the Department of Applied Behavioral Science at the University of Kansas, Lawrence. He is a collaborator on a multisite project on challenging behavior in developmental disabilities including the Kennedy Krieger Institute in Maryland; the Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, University of Massachusetts, Amherst; and the University of Kansas, Parsons. He is a licensed psychologist.

Dr. Thompson completed his doctoral training in psychology at the University of Minnesota and completed postdoctoral work at the University of Maryland. He spent a year at Cambridge University in the United Kingdom and a year as a visiting scientist at the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Rockville, Maryland. Dr. Thompson was Director of the John F. Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development at Vanderbilt University and Director of the Institute for Child Development at the University of Kansas Medical Center--a clinical, training, and research institute. Dr. Thompson has served on several National Institutes of Health research review committees, including chairing reviews of the applicants for Collaborative Programs of Excellence in Autism awards in 2000, 2003, and 2007. He has been a member of American Psychological Association (APA) task forces concerned with the practice of psychology and psychopharmacology. He is a past president of the Behavioral Pharmacology Society, the Division of Psychopharmacology and Substance Abuse, and the Division of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities of the APA.

Dr. Thompson has received numerous awards, including the Distinguished Research Award, The Arc of the United States; the Academy on Mental Retardation Lifetime Research Award; the APA's Don Hake Award; the Edgar A. Doll Award, for contributions to facilitate the transfer of research into practice; and the Ernest R. Hilgard Award and the Impact of Science on Application Award of the Society for Advancement of Behavior Analysis. He has served as cochair of the Association for Behavior Analysis International's Annual Autism Conference (2010 and 2011). He has published more than 230 journal articles and chapters and 30 books dealing with autism, developmental disabilities, psychopharmacology, and related topics. His most recent books, Making Sense of Autism (2007) and Dr. Thompson's Straight Talk on Autism (2008), are also published by Paul H. Brookes Publishing Co. Dr. Thompson has spoken in 46 states and 15 countries about his research and clinical services and on topics related to autism and other developmental disabilities and psychopharmacology.