Early Start Denver Model (ESDM) Introductory Workshop

Ms. Noleen Seris, Dr. Nokuthula Shabalala, Ms. Marisa Viljoen, and Dr. Lauren Franz of the Center for Autism Research in Africa and the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development will offer a one-day introductory workshop on the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), an early intervention for autism spectrum disorder (ASD). ESDM is a manualized intervention and is comprised of a curriculum, a set of teaching practices that are based on naturalistic developmental applied behaviour analysis principles, and a fidelity measure. The model uses the knowledge of how typical children develop and learn and the ways in which ASD affects early development in order to improve developmental outcomes for children with ASD. The goals of ESDM are to reduce the severity of ASD symptoms in young children and to accelerate children’s developmental rates in multiple domains, including cognitive, social-emotional, adaptive, and language skills. Additionally, ESDM is one of two early intervention methods that are considered by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality in the United States to be efficacious intervention methods.

Workshop activities will include didactic instruction, exercises, and group discussion. The workshop is open to individuals from a variety of backgrounds, including professionals, parents, and other interested parties. The workshop is not designed to certify individuals as ESDM therapists, but instead to introduce attendees to the core.

DATE: Saturday, 28 September 2019

TIME: 8:30 – 17:00

VENUE: METRO 4, James Moroka Building, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein

Accredited: 7 CPD points 

Email Rehana Effendi (rehana.effendi@uct.ac.za) for registration details.

For the full invitation click here