Autism Spectrum Disorder in the First Years of Life

Katarzyna Chawarska, PhD, is Emily Fraser Beede Professor of Child Psychiatry in the Child Study Center at Yale University School of Medicine. She is Director of the Social and Affective Neuroscience of Autism Program and the Infant and Toddler Developmental Disabilities Clinic. Dr. Chawarska is a leading expert on identifying early prognostic markers and novel treatment targets in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Her recent work focuses on improving understanding of attentional and affective processes involved in development of core and comorbid features in ASD, as well as investigating the links between development of brain connectivity during prenatal and early neonatal periods and later outcomes in infants at risk for ASD. Fred R. Volkmar, MD, is Goodwin Endowed Chair of Special Education (part time) at Southern Connecticut State University and Irving B. Harris Professor of Child Psychiatry, Pediatrics, and Psychology (part time) in the Child Study Center at Yale University School of Medicine. He has served as Director of the Child Study Center as well as Chief of Child Psychiatry at Yale-New Haven Hospital. Dr. Volkmar was the primary author of the American Psychiatric Association's DSM-IV autism and pervasive developmental disorders section. He has published several hundred scientific papers and chapters as well as a number of books. He serves as Editor of the Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.