Originally posted last year, episode 13 featured an interview with prominent behavior analyst, Peter Gerhardt, talking about the challenges facing young adults and adolescents with disabilities.  As part of summer vacation, we're very excited to get the chance to revisit this topic.  Enjoy!

ORIGINAL POST: We were so astonished at the paucity of research related to teaching adolescents and adults with autism that we decided to put together two full episodes to raise awareness about the topic.  Our first episode summarizes many of the overall challenges that society and adults with autism will face in the coming years.  Start by listening to Jackie, Rob, and Diana grapple with the big issues by making fun of educational videos and smiling politely at another Rob Rant about the government.  End by listening to a fascinating interview with Dr. Peter Gerhardt in which he discusses the life skills nobody is talking about (or training on!), which target academics have already become obsolete, the goal every behavior analyst should strive to achieve, and what social interaction will replace the high five in America.     

Articles discussed this episode:

Gerhardt, P.F. & Lainer, I.  (2011).  Addressing the needs of adolescents and adults with autism: A crisis on the horizon.  Journal of Contemporary Psychoherapy, 41, 37-45.  doi: 10.1007/s10879-010-9160-2  

If you're interested in ordering CEs for listening to this episode, click here to go to the store page. You'll need to enter your name, BCBA #, and the two episode secret code words to complete the purchase. Email us at [email protected] for further assistance.