This episode of Therapy Cafe features Dr. Suzanne Goh, a pediatric neurologist, board-certified behavior analyst, neuroscience researcher, and founder of Cortica, discussing the whole-child approach to treating autism. Dr. Goh explains the historical context, current diagnostic and therapeutic landscapes of autism, and how her holistic model combines optimal medical treatment with the most effective strategies for advancing cognition, communication, and behavior. She emphasizes the importance of collaboration among healthcare professionals and the role of family support in enhancing autism care, demystifying complex treatment processes, and focusing on strengths-based interventions.

Learning Objectives:

By the end of this presentation, listeners will be able to

1. Define autism and list its diagnostic characteristics and commonly co-occurring features

2. Identify how a whole-child approach to care helps to support autistic* children and their families more effectively

3. Utilize a strengths-based framework to better support autistic children and their families.

If you’d like to obtain continuing education as a psychologist, counselor, social worker, or therapist you can purchase a one-year subscription to Psych Hub’s training center. Once signed up, you’ll have access to earn CEs for this and every Therapy Cafe episode, plus access to our existing library of over 120 evidence-based practice continuing education courses created by expert clinicians. Go to psychhub.com/signup for more information.

Learn more about Dr. Goh’s research and her recent work “Magnificent Minds: The New Whole-Child Approach to Autism” at: https://www.drsuzannegoh.com/

Learn more about the research at Cortica at: https://www.corticacare.com/

*This episode will use both identity-first and person-first language. Click here to learn more about respectful language perspectives:

https://www.nih.gov/about-nih/what-we-do/science-health-public-trust/perspectives/writing-respectfully-person-first-identity-first-language