Ruth Ellingsen, Ph.D.

Ruth Ellingsen, Ph.D. is a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences at the UCLA Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior.  Dr. Ellingsen received her doctorate in clinical psychology from UCLA in 2016 and completed a clinical internship in child psychology at UCLA from 2015-2016.  As a postdoctoral fellow for the UCLA PEERS® Clinic, Dr. Ellingsen co-facilitates PEERS® for Adolescents and PEERS® for Young Adults social skills intervention groups under the mentorship of Dr. Elizabeth Laugeson.  She is also a postdoctoral fellow in the UCLA Nathanson Family Resilience Center where she specializes in the prevention and treatment of traumatic stress in children and families.  Her research focuses on factors that influence positive parenting of children at risk.

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“Brava, Dr. Ruth Ellington. The best Webinar I've experienced yet. Well done. I learned strategies to teach ASD clients and parents about handling bullying.”-William C., Psychologist, California

Deficits in social skills are considered one of the defining challenges among young people with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), yet few evidence-based social skills programs exist for higher functioning youth with ASD.  This seminar will provide an overview of the social skills needed for making and keeping friends and handling peer conflict and rejection.  You will be given tips on how to provide social coaching using concrete rules and steps of social behavior derived from the widely popular PEERS® program, the only known evidence-based social skills program for teens and young adults with ASD. Within the framework of solid research evidence about what works and what doesn’t work socially, attendees will be given easy-to-use strategies to assist young people with making and keeping friends. The seminar will include topics such as appropriate use of conversation skills; strategies for entering conversations; and advice for managing arguments and handling teasing, physical bullying, cyber bullying, rumors, and gossip. 

session: 8469