Oral 04 | Thinking outside the box: Treating ASD and complex psychological comorbidity
Tracks
Track 9
| Friday, May 15, 2020 |
| 1:30 PM - 3:10 PM |
Presenter(s)
Dr Jacinta Ryan
Jacinta Ryan Clinical Psychology
Oral 04 | Thinking outside the box: Treating ASD and complex psychological comorbidity
2:30 PM - 2:50 PMOutline
Clinical Psychologists believe in the critical role of evidence-based treatments. However, best practice, client-centred care also requires clinical flexibility and a willingness to consider novel methods when the benefits of standard treatments have been exhausted. This presentation will discuss the value of balancing evidence-based approaches with appropriately selected unconventional methods in the treatment of complex clients with ASD traits who demonstrate chronic psychological impairment despite long-term specialist therapies.
The Davis Life Concepts for Autism Program (DLCAP) is a new, manualised developmental intervention utilising clay modelling of abstract life concepts and behavioural exploration to target sensory, cognitive and functional aspects of ASD. It aims to teach a series of conceptual life lessons so clients can integrate new experiences into their identity, acquire greater cognitive flexibility and achieve core competencies. The DLCAP is not widely known among Clinical Psychologists and its effectiveness has not been clinically evaluated.
This presentation will describe the remarkably successful trial of this method with a young housebound woman with a 10-year history of substantial psychological difficulties and undetected ASD traits who made limited gains with CBT/Mindfulness with multiple therapists. She completed 70 hours of the DLCAP over 18 months as part of an individually tailored treatment plan incorporating weekly supportive therapy. Self-rated mood/ anxiety symptoms, avoidant and compulsive behaviours decreased 30-65 percent. There was a clinically significant increase in functional skills, social capacity and overall quality of life. At conclusion, she was no longer agoraphobic. Changes were corroborated by two family members. Her gains continued at One and Two-Year Follow-Up (when her Autism Quotient score dropped 11 points to 29/50) The results suggest that the novel cognitive and behavioural facets of the DLCAP show potential for the treatment of people with Autistic traits and complex comorbidities. Further research trials are warranted to evaluate its efficacy.
The Davis Life Concepts for Autism Program (DLCAP) is a new, manualised developmental intervention utilising clay modelling of abstract life concepts and behavioural exploration to target sensory, cognitive and functional aspects of ASD. It aims to teach a series of conceptual life lessons so clients can integrate new experiences into their identity, acquire greater cognitive flexibility and achieve core competencies. The DLCAP is not widely known among Clinical Psychologists and its effectiveness has not been clinically evaluated.
This presentation will describe the remarkably successful trial of this method with a young housebound woman with a 10-year history of substantial psychological difficulties and undetected ASD traits who made limited gains with CBT/Mindfulness with multiple therapists. She completed 70 hours of the DLCAP over 18 months as part of an individually tailored treatment plan incorporating weekly supportive therapy. Self-rated mood/ anxiety symptoms, avoidant and compulsive behaviours decreased 30-65 percent. There was a clinically significant increase in functional skills, social capacity and overall quality of life. At conclusion, she was no longer agoraphobic. Changes were corroborated by two family members. Her gains continued at One and Two-Year Follow-Up (when her Autism Quotient score dropped 11 points to 29/50) The results suggest that the novel cognitive and behavioural facets of the DLCAP show potential for the treatment of people with Autistic traits and complex comorbidities. Further research trials are warranted to evaluate its efficacy.
Biography
Dr Jacinta Ryan is a Clinical Psychologist who specialises in the treatment of Anxiety Disorders, with a particular focus on Social Anxiety.
She has worked in public and private settings (directing the Social Anxiety Program at The Melbourne Clinic and providing brief interventions for complex cases within the Alfred Hospital Continence Service) and consults in a GP centre providing CBT, Mindfulness and psychodynamic-informed therapies.
After discovering the Davis Life Concepts for Autism Program at the 2014 American Autism Association Conference, she began a clinical case study research project and recently formalised a research collaboration with ACU.
Dr Ryan graduated from the University of Melbourne as the 1997 APS Honours Prize recipient before completing her PhD on institutional betrayal trauma at Monash University. Dr Ryan was a previous Rotary academic scholarship recipient to the USA and winner of the Mental Health Services Conference Media Award across Australia and New Zealand.
