This workshop will be presented by Dr. Emma Duerden, a researcher at the Hospital for Sick Children, and will focus on pain expression in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Parents and caregivers of children with ASD may often wonder why their child reacts unusually to pain. Some children with ASD will only indicate that they are experiencing discomfort if they are either gravely ill or have had a serious accident. Additionally, children with ASD can perform acts of self-harm without expressing pain. Furthermore, sometimes children with ASD have no reaction to others experiencing pain. On the opposite end of the spectrum, some children with ASD will become extremely agitated and upset in situations which others would not experience as painful at all. These behavioural characteristics indicate that children with ASD have an altered sensitivity to pain.
In this workshop, Dr. Duerden will present a series of studies she and her group have conducted examining pain expression and recognition in children with ASD. The goal of Dr. Duerden’s research is to improve understanding of how children with ASD process pain in order to recognize and manage pain more effectively in this population.
Please refer to the Parent Training Calendar for current information on Special Topics.
