SNG Conference - Claudine Jacques & Valérie Courchesne, Ph.D.

Autism Spectrum Disorder is characterized by peculiarities in social communication and by the presence of repetitive behaviors and narrow interests. While cognitive explanatory models have reported strengths in the profile of people with autism for many years, recent research has argued that the intense interests of people with autism may be associated with their well-being. The purpose of this presentation is to, first, provide an overview of recent work on the peculiarities of autistic cognition, particularly regarding the learning and reasoning styles of people with autism. Then, secondly, innovative ideas about the use of theoretical knowledge in order to develop assessment and intervention tools that focus on autistic forces and interests will be addressed.

About the Speakers

Claudine Jacques is a psychoeducator, professor in the Department of Psychoeducation and Psychology at the Université du Québec en Outaouais and a regular researcher at the CISSS de l’Outaouais and the University Institute in ID-ASD. She has developed a clinical expertise by working for over 10 years in assessment and intervention with autistic children aged between 0 to 18 years. She conducts innovative research projects on the identification and use of the preferred interests and cognitive strengths of people with autism.

Valérie Courchesne completed her Ph. D. in Clinical Psychology in 2017. She has been working in autism research for almost 10 years now. She did her doctorate under the supervision of Isabelle Soulières and Laurent Mottron at the Université de Montréal, and is currently doing her post-doctorate at McGill to the autism research program of the Montreal Children's Hospital under the supervision of from Mayada Elsabbagh. Her thesis was about the evaluation of cognitive forces and intelligence in autism. Therefore, she’s interested in the strengths of people with autism in general and how to use them in both evaluation and intervention.