Advances and Challenges in Autism

The presentation focuses on the need to understand ASD in all relevant areas to implement efficient and functional practice. From its conception in current classification manuals such as the DSM-5 and ICD-11 to its use in autistic individuals and an approach that considers quality of life throughout their lifespan, including diagnosis and the factors that may be involved in the underdiagnosis that occurs in women with ASD, the foundations of current treatment in the various areas of development, the family, and programs focused on it, new research paradigms, and the increasingly prominent need for inclusive practices in education. Of course, we will also delve into other relevant areas and challenges, such as, on the one hand, research and the need to integrate the various data coming from different research areas, and on the other, the equally urgent need to address the mental health of people with ASD, emphasizing the coherence of a current approach to neurodiversity and addressing comorbidity.

Our research was initially focussed on anxiety disorders but has now expanded to include other presentations and patient groups. I will outline what we have found, and I will hope to persuade the audience that there is much that can be done to help parents with mental health difficulties, if only the will and the resource can be found.