This webcast is designed to introduce parents, educators, and professionals to effective strategies for supporting someone with Asperger’s Syndrome (AS) in adolescence and adulthood. The webcast will provide a description of common strengths and areas of need present in adulthood and will focus on characteristics related to communication and social-emotional development. Dr. Barnhill will discuss services often required to address identified needs and strategies to support the individual as they strive to obtain employment, live in the community, and maintain social relationships.

Gena P. Barnhill, author of Right Address … Wrong Planet: Children with Asperger Syndrome Becoming Adults and coauthor of Parents of Children with Disabilities: A Survival Guide for Fathers and Mothers is an assistant professor of special education at Lynchburg College in Lynchburg, Virginia and coordinator of the Autism Certificate Program.  Previously, she was an autism coordinator and school psychologist for the North Kansas City School District in Kansas City, MO.  Gena is a Nationally Certified School Psychologist and a Board Certified Behavior Analyst, as well as the mother of an adult son with Asperger Syndrome.  She has worked with children with special needs in medical and educational settings for over 30 years as a registered nurse, school counselor, and school psychologist. In addition to publishing over 30 articles in peer-reviewed journals, she has presented nationally on autism and Asperger Syndrome at over 100 conferences.  Gena is a member of the Virginia Autism Council (VAC).