Employment of people with ASD and an interview with Temple Grandin in the journal "Autism and Developmental Disorders"

Dear readers,

A new issue (No. 3-2020) of the journal "Autism and Developmental Disorders" (Russia) has been published on the Russian Psychological Issues Psyjournals.ru. The issue was formed by the articles from key speakers of the VII International Conference "Autism: Challenges and Solutions" from the USA, Canada, Australia, Saudi Arabia. The issue's guest editor - Director of the Autism Research Institute, Stephen Edelson (USA) made a video introduction of the issue.

Supported employment is one of the headlines of the issue. The articles by D.Nicholas and D.Headley and colleagues provide empirical and theoretical studies of the problem of supported employment of individuals with ASD. In the work of the American nerologist - Margaret Bauman, the LADEERS model of interdisciplinary work with individuals with autism is presented.

Currently, there are a large number of interventions focused at the improving of various areas of life for people with ASD. Professor Hendren's team review provides information on intervention strategies of working with people with autism throughout the life cycle. Anxiety, self-injurious behavior, and sleep disorders are serious problems that affect the quality of life of individuals with autism. Stephen Edelson's review provides information on modern medical and psycho-educational interventions affecting these areas.

Rapidly evolving autism research is generating new theories and hypotheses to understand the underlying causes of ASD and to develop new strategies for addressing the key symptoms of autism. In the work of Professor El-Ansari, a new hypothesis for eliminating unwanted and repetitive behaviors in children with ASD is presented.

The issue ends with an interview with a person who "opened up to the world" the inner world of a person with autism - Dr. Temple Grandin. Speaking with the issue's guest editor, Dr.Grandin discussed telecommuting amid the COVID pandemic and the challenges people with autism face and gave some advice to families raising children with autism.

Illustrated by Olga Volgina