News and Knowledge

OAR is proud to announce that it will be offering its first free webinar featuring Peter Gerhardt, Ed.D., executive director of the EPIC School in Paramus, N.J., on April 3 at 2 p.m. ET. The webinar, Identifying Critical Skills to Promote More Positive Outcomes in the Transition to Adulthood for Young Adults with ASD, will provide a brief overview of some of the challenges to the provision of effective transition programming, discuss the important of focusing instruction and intervention outside of the classroom, and provide recommendations moving forward.

For many individuals on the autism spectrum, graduation from high school is also a time of “aging out” of entitlement services guaranteed under Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).  Unfortunately, research indicates that most graduates with autism will have “a difficult time following high school for almost any outcome you choose – working, continuing school, living independently, socializing and participating in the community, and staying healthy and safe. To complicate matters, many such youth begin their journey into adulthood by stepping off a services cliff” (Roux, et al, 2015, p. 8).  

Part of this might be understood as resulting from the limited availability of appropriate services in adulthood. But some of the responsibility can be attributed to the limited or, at times, simply inadequate, transition programming provided by schools.

Dr. Gerhardt is the founding chairman of the Scientific Council of OAR and serves on numerous professional advisory boards including the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies. Dr. Gerhardt has more than 35 years of experience using applied behavior analysis principles in support of adolescents and adults with autism spectrum disorders in educational, employment, residential, and community-based settings.

OAR is currently developing its full 2018 webinar schedule, which will feature members of the Scientific Council. OAR’s webinar events will be archived and accessible at www.researchautism.org. Anyone interested in attending the webinar is encouraged to participate during the live event, when Dr. Gerhardt will be available to answer questions. To spread the word about this webinar, please share this flyer. 

If you have any questions or comments about this event, or if you would like to request specific webinar topics, please contact us at programs@researchautism.org or call 703-243-9762.