Autism Spectrum Disorders Pharmacology and Autism
These training materials were created for the Autism Center of Excellence at Western Michigan University. This course has been developed for behavioral health professionals to gain an understanding of when and how the medication should be used to assist in the treatment of those clients with Autism Spectrum Disorder.
This course will be updated in the near future to address current accessibility standards. If you are unable to access the content in this section, please contact the imp support team for assistance.
Understanding the Use of Medication and Autism
This course provides participants with a brief overview of the use of medication to help with the overall treatment of those clients with Autism. It is important to note and is echoed throughout this course that medication does not treat or prevent Autism, but is rather used to treat the aberrant behavior associated with the disorder.
Concerns for Medication Use
This course provides an objective look into using medication to treat behavior and offers participants a frank discussion into why medication should or should not be used with autistic clients.
Addressing Parents Prior to Medication Referrals
The later sections of this course provide meaningful information regarding how to communicate the potential use of medication to treat their child. This course will also provide tips on communicating with parents that are for, or against using medication.
Dr. Alan Poling
Dr. Alan Poling is Professor of Psychology at Western Michigan University. He received his B.A. from Alderson-Broaddus College, his M.A. from West Virginia University, and his Ph.D. from the University of Minnesota. A Fellow of Divisions 3, 25, and 28 of the American Psychological Association, Dr. Poling has published 12 books and roughly 350 articles and book chapters and served as the research advisor of 35 Ph.D. recipients. They, and he, have conducted research and done conceptual work in several areas, including behavioral pharmacology, clinical psychopharmacology (with special emphasis on the effects of psychotropic drugs in people with developmental disabilities), applied behavior analysis, gender issues, animal welfare, quantitative analysis, learning processes, and research methods. Dr. Poling was recognized as a Distinguished Faculty Scholar at Western Michigan University in 1996 and as a Distinguished Alumnus of West Virginia University in 1999. In 2003, he received the Western Michigan University College of Arts and Sciences Outstanding Achievement in Research and Creative Activity Award. In 2016, he will receive a Lifetime Achievement Award from the California Association of Behavior Analysis, a Translational Research Award from the Association for Behavior Analysis International, and an International Humanitarian Award from the American Psychological Association.
Course Progress
Course Content
What People Are Saying
The module was very informing and gave good examples of situations and how to handle them with specific drills."
