Professor Tony Attwood and Dr Michelle Garnett

Emotional Management for Children and Teens with ASD – Cairns QLD 15th November 2019

Children and adolescents with an Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) have difficulty with the comprehension, expression and regulation of emotions, resulting in high levels of anxiety, stress, anger and/or depression and subsequent effects on family, teachers, friends and peers. Conventional strategies that encourage emotion management for typical children do not seem to be as effective with those who have an ASD. The child’s quality of life, self-esteem and well-being will be influenced by their ability to manage emotions and difficulties with emotion management can lead to being suspended and having a notoriety that will affect the attitude of teachers and peers as well as the attitude of the child to themselves. Through several decades of working with children and adolescents with ASD and their families and schools, Michelle and Tony have discovered, developed and evaluated emotion management strategies based on Cognitive Behaviour Therapy that have proven to be effective in assisting children with ASD to learn about, and manage, their emotions from anxiety to love and affection.