More than Sensory: The Overlap of Autism and Complex Trauma – 1/28/27
Date/Time
Time: 9:45 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Eastern
Location: LIVESTREAM
Cost: $99.99
Credits: 5 CE Credits
Registration ends 30 minutes before the webinar opens.
Presenter(s)
CEU Creations presents:
More than Sensory: The Overlap of Autism and Complex Trauma – 1/28/27
FEATURING:
- Strategies to distinguish overlapping symptoms of autism and trauma for more accurate assessment and diagnosis
- Evidence-informed approaches for adapting trauma treatment to meet the needs of autistic clients.
EVENT INFO:
9:45 a.m. – 4:00 p.m. Eastern
Registration ends 30 minutes before the webinar opens.
COST:
CONTINUING EDUCATION CREDITS:
Note: To earn a certificate, you must log in on time and remain on for the entire training. There is no automatic grace period for late arrivals. Login and logout times are recorded and documented in Zoom.
Social Workers:
ASWB ACE – 5 Clinical CE credits
New York State Education Department’s State Board for Social Work – 5 Contact hours
Psychologists:
APA – 5 CE credits
Counselors:
NBCC ACEP – 5 Contact hours
NY State Education Department’s State Board for Mental Health Practitioners – 5 Contact hours
Addiction Professionals:
NAADAC – This course is not eligible for NAADAC Contact hours.
Nurses:
California Board of Registered Nursing – 5 Contact hours
Case Managers:
CCMC – This course is not eligible for CCMC CE Contact hours.
Long-Term Care Administrators:
This course is not approved for NAB/NCERS participant hours.
Attendance or applied credit certificate available for other credentials.
Please make sure to check with your own state board to ensure the transferability of CE credits.
Counselors: If this course awards Ethics hours, please note that some states do not recognize Ethics hours; in those cases, Contact hours will be awarded.
Target Audience: Social workers, psychologists, counselors, and nurses
Instructional Level: Intermediate
Counseling Skill Group:
N/A
OVERVIEW:
Autistic individuals face a significantly elevated risk of trauma exposure, yet in clinical practice, the two can look nearly indistinguishable. Emotional dysregulation, shutdown responses, sensory sensitivity, social withdrawal, and difficulty engaging in treatment can all stem from autism, trauma, or both at once. Attributing these symptoms to the wrong source can undermine treatment, leaving clients cycling through interventions that never quite succeed because the plan was built on an inaccurate diagnostic picture.
This 5-hour training gives clinicians a structured framework for telling these presentations apart. You'll examine where autism and trauma symptoms overlap, including emotional reactivity, interpersonal difficulty, and cognitive processing differences, and learn the distinctions that actually support accurate diagnosis. We'll also review current research on autism-trauma co-occurrence, including how autistic individuals may experience, express, and process traumatic events differently than the general population.
This training will focus on evidence-informed strategies for adapting CBT, trauma-focused, and regulation-based interventions to meet both neurodevelopmental and trauma-related needs.
OBJECTIVES:
By attending this training, you will be able to:
1. Develop an awareness of the prevalence of trauma as experienced by individuals with autism.
2. Describe how trauma may be experienced and expressed differently among autistic individuals.
3. Differentiate key clinical features of autism spectrum presentations from trauma-related conditions, including areas of symptom overlap and distinction.
4. Explain assessment considerations to improve diagnostic accuracy in cases involving potential co-occurring conditions.
5. Develop treatment plans that integrate trauma-informed and neurodevelopmentally appropriate approaches.
6. Adapt evidence-informed interventions, including CBT, trauma-focused, and regulation-based strategies, to better meet the needs of clients with overlapping or complex presentations.
AGENDA (all times are Eastern):
10:00-12:20 Presentation (includes 10-minute break)
12:20-1:00 Midway Reset
1:00-4:00 Presentation (includes 10-minute break)
PRESENTER BIO:
Christina Marsack-Topolewski, LMSW, PhD is a licensed social worker and an tenured Professor of Social Work at Eastern Michigan University. She received her bachelor’s of science in Special Education from Wayne State University, master’s degree in Social Work from the University of Michigan, and her PhD in Social Work from Wayne State University. She has 20 years of experience supporting individuals with disabilities and their family caregivers. She has worked with individuals with disabilities with co-occurring conditions, including chronic pain. Dr. Marsack-Topolewski has worked as a professor, clinical therapist, teacher, consultant, and speaker. She has published over 90 research articles in scholarly journals and encyclopedias regarding individuals with developmental disabilities, family caregiving, and formal social supports.
Dr. Marsack-Topolewski has served as the lead principal investigator on multiple grant-funded programs tailoring services for individuals with disabilities and their caregivers. She is an appointed board member of the U.S. National Task Group (NTG) on Intellectual Disability and Dementia Practices. Dr. Marsack-Topolewski’s research has been featured on National Public Radio (NPR) and ABC News Detroit. Over the past five years, she testified before members of the Michigan Legislature to advocate for new laws that protect against the exploitation and abuse of adults with disabilities. Two of these house bills were signed into law in the state of Michigan in December 2023. In 2024, she received the Ronald W. Collins Distinguished Research Award for Research Excellence. In addition, she received the Arc of Oakland County’s Advocacy Hall of Fame Award in 2024. Outside of work, she loves spending time with her husband, their three daughters, and family and friends.
COURSE PARTICIPATION INFORMATION:
To ensure you are ready to participate, please review these tips and tricks to ensure a better webinar experience.
This live webinar is fully interactive; a computer is required. Attendees may ask and answer questions throughout the presentation and participate in instructor-led discussions. Zoom account is not required.
You will receive a reminder email approximately 24 hours prior to the start of the training and a link to join the webinar will be in your CEU Creations account under Member Profile.
To receive credit, you must log in on time, attend the entire presentation, and interact.
POST EVENT: When the training ends, your attendance will be processed using Zoom analytics. Once processed, the evaluation link will be available in your account and we ask that you complete it within 3 days of the training. Once your evaluation is complete, your certificate will be available in your CEU Creations account within 24-72 hours.
Please contact us at [email protected] with any questions.
BOARD INFORMATION
SOCIAL WORKERS: CEU Creations, #1239, is approved as an ACE provider to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. ACE provider approval period: 11/22/24-11/22/27. Social workers completing this course receive 5 Clinical CE credits.
CEU Creations, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Social Work as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed social workers #SW-0616. This activity is approved for 5 Contact hours.
PSYCHOLOGISTS: 5 CE credits. CEU Creations is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists. CEU Creations maintains responsibility for this program and its content.
COUNSELORS: 5 Contact hours 
CEU Creations has been approved by NBCC as an Approved Continuing Education Provider, ACEP No. 6941. Programs that do not qualify for NBCC credit are clearly identified. CEU Creations is solely responsible for all aspects of the programs. CEU Creations, Inc. is recognized by the New York State Education Department's State Board for Mental Health Practitioners as an approved provider of continuing education for licensed mental health counselors. #MHC-0199. This activity is approved for 5 Contact hours.
ADDICTION PROFESSIONALS: This event is not eligible for NAADAC Contact hours.
NURSES: 5 Contact hours. CEU Creations is an approved provider of nursing CEs through the California Board of Registered Nursing. Provider number: CEP17905. All states retain their own licensing authority through their own boards. Please make sure to check with your own state board to ensure transferability of the CE credits.
Cancellation Policy: Registrants must cancel their registration in their CEU Creations account. No email, faxes, or mail cancellations will be accepted. Cancellation fee: $25. Refunds will not be given for cancellations within five (5) business days prior to the workshop date.
Accessibility Accommodations: At CEU Creations, we are dedicated to providing an inclusive and accessible experience for all individuals. We strive to ensure our continuing education content, website, and services are usable by everyone, regardless of ability. We are continually working to enhance accessibility and user experience for all of our users. If you encounter any barriers, have questions, or wish to request accommodations, please don’t hesitate to reach out. You can contact us at [email protected] and a member of our team will review your message and respond promptly.
Event Cancellation and Rescheduling Policy: In the event that CEU Creations cancels or reschedules an event, registered participants will be given the option to receive a full refund, a credit toward a different event of the same value, or to transfer their registration to the rescheduled date.