These questions are among the many that will be answered with the publication of the fifth edition of the American Psychiatric Association’s (APA) Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5) in May 2013. Although it will not be published for almost three years the release of the long-awaited draft of the fifth edition caused heated debates over a new set of possible psychiatric disorders and the proposed merger of autism and Asperger’s disorder into a single “spectrum” category.

On Monday, June 28, SWINY is pleased to host a panel of experts to discuss the upcoming changes and revisions for DSM-5 and their implications for clinicians, researchers, psychiatric drug regulation agencies, health insurance companies, pharmaceutical companies and policy makers to make decisions about mental health. Our panel includes:

Jennifer Jo Brout, Ed.M., Psy.D., is a psychologist dedicated to furthering knowledge about Sensory Processing Disorders (SPD) and its application to mental health. She earned an Ed.M. in School Psychology from Columbia University and a Psy.D. in School/Clinical Psychology from Albert Einstein College of Medicine. She spearheads evidenced-based research projects in order to address various aspects of sensory processing/regulatory disorders, and founded a Duke University program that focuses on research into sensory processing and emotion regulation.

Lucy Jane Miller, Ph.D., OTR, Executive Director of the Sensory Processing Disorder Foundation in Denver, Colorado. Dr. Miller has been investigating, analyzing and explaining sensory processing disorders to other scientists, professionals, and parents for over 30 years. She is the author of Sensational Kids: Hope and Help for Children with Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD), Director of the Sensory Therapies and Research (STAR) Center as well as Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at Rocky Mountain University and Associate Clinical Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado, Denver, School of Medicine.

Due to Dr. Miller's mobilization of the research community, SPD now appears in two diagnostic manuals: the ICDL's Diagnostic Manual for Infancy and Early Childhood and The Diagnostic Classification: Zero to Three. Her application has led to consideration of SPD for inclusion in the 2013 revision of DSM-5.  She has been featured on NBC's Today Show and ABC's 20/20, in The New York Times and numerous other popular and professional publications. Dr. Miller is the author of more than 60 articles and/or chapters in scientific and professional journals, magazines, and textbooks and is a frequent presenter or speaker at conferences and workshops worldwide. 

She is also the author of nine norm-referenced standardized scales published by The Psychological Corporation (Pearson, Inc.) including the Leiter International Performance Scale – Revised, and the Miller Assessment for Preschoolers.  She received the Martin Luther King Jr. award from the State of Colorado in 2005 for three decades of service to the group of children who are disenfranchised because they have disabilities.

http://www.spdfoundation.net

David Shaffer, M.D., F.R.C.P., F.R.C.Psych., Columbia University Medical Center (Irving Philips Professor of Child Psychiatry, Professor of Psychiatry and Pediatrics, and Chief, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry). He is past president of the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention and current President of the International Academy of Suicide Research.

Dr. Shaffer participated in DSM-III and -IIIR and was co-chair of the DSM-IV Child and Adolescent Work Group. He chairs the ADHD and Disruptive Behavior Disorders Work Group and is the American Psychiatric Association’s DSM-5 Task Force Representative to the ICD-11 Work Group on Mental and Behavioral Disorders in Children and Adolescents.

Dr. Shaffer obtained his medical training in London at University College Hospital and trained in pediatric neurology at Yale University.  During his pediatric psychiatry training, Dr. Shaffer conducted the first epidemiologic study of suicides under age 15 in England and Wales and identified the frequency of aggressive and anxious behavior and the importance of imitation in youth suicide. This was the first step in what became an influential career studying and illuminating adolescent suicide. This continued in the U.S. when he assumed the chairmanship of the Division of Child Psychiatry at Columbia University in 1977, retiring in 2008 after 31 years. His research there helped lead to the development of the Columbia TeenScreen Program as a technique for suicide prevention. His current research focuses on the events and moods immediately prior to initiating a suicide attempt.

Dr. Shaffer received the American Suicide Foundation’s Award for Research in Suicide in 1989, and the Lifetime Achievement Award in 2007.

Andy Shih, Ph.D., is Vice President of Scientific Affairs at Autism Speaks, which is dedicated to increasing awareness of autism spectrum disorders and funding research into the causes, prevention and treatments for autism. Dr. Shih works closely with members of Autism Speakers’ Board, Scientific Advisory Committee, senior staff and volunteer leadership to develop and implement the organization's research program. He oversees the etiology portfolio, which includes investments in genetics, environmental sciences, and epidemiology research. He also leads the international advocacy and scientific development efforts for Autism Speaks.

Dr. Shih had served as an industry consultant and was a member of the faculty at Yeshiva University and New York University Medical Center. He earned his Ph.D. in cellular and molecular biology from New York University Medical Center. His research background includes published studies in gene identification and characterization, virus-cell interaction, and cell-cycle regulation. He was instrumental in the cloning of a family of small GTPases involved in cell-cycle control and nuclear transport, and holds three patents on nucleic acids-based diagnostics and therapeutics.

http://www.autismspeaks.org

When:
Monday, June 28
6 p.m. to 6:30 p.m., Networking and registration
6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m., Program

Where:
4 West 43rd Street (Between Fifth and Sixth Avenues)

Admission:
With advance payment using PayPal:

• $5 for 2010 dues paid SWINY members
• $10 for nonmembers
• $5 Students with current ID

At the door without pre-registration:

• $10 SWINY members
• $15 nonmembers
• $10 Students with current ID

RSVP by Monday, June 21 (links to PayPal are available on the confirmation screen after you have entered your RSVP information).

Questions? Contact David Levine at davidlevine51@gmail.com