autism 2020

Biography

Dr. Smita Awasthi is the first Indian USA Board Certified Behavior Analyst with a doctorate in Applied Behavior Analysis. She has 35 years of experience in the field of special needs children. She started her career at the age of 23 in a UNICEF project, where she organized rehabilitation camps for people with disabilities in villages around Delhi. At the age of 25 she was Center Head of a 50 children residential school in Lucknow, India. In the last 15 years, she pioneered “evidence based practice” in India for teaching children with Autism and continues her mission of advocacy, mentoring & application of scientific treatments in the field of autism. She actively worked towards Autism Awarness & Intervention in remote areas in India and is an established leader in delivering high quality services. She is actively involved in capacity building and her students & team members today serve people with autism between 2 – 45 years. A strong advocate of inclusion, she campaigns for mainstreaming people with Autism. She is a trustee on various NGOs and has been selfless in dedication towards autism treatment across the breadth of the country and is a respected world leader. She has been recognized internationally for such efforts She founded Behavior Momentum India in 2010 the First & Only, largest 1:1 systems based and ISO certified facility in the country. BMI has 7 centers for autism across India and 2 collaborations with multi-disciplinary centers. BMI has a 250+ strong committed team which serves 350+ children and young adults with Autism & IDD. A core team also provides tele-health services to clients in Europe and remote areas of India. Dr. Smita trains parents and supervisors in delivering language programs for skill development, mainstreaming and inclusion. She has recently started a National Autism Intervention Research Center [NAIRC] initiative through which research collaborations will be made with medical practioners in India considering the huge population of more than 1.5 million people with Autism and other developmental disabilities. To develop a resource pool of qualified behavior analysts she started the only BACB [Behavior Analyst Certification Board] approved Course Sequence in ABA in India and is the programs Course Director. Dr. Smita has presented autism treatment related researches at International conferences and has been a keynote speaker at national and international events. She has been honoured by National and International organizations for her pioneering work in India. Her body of scientific research with non-vocal children with autism has provided hope to innumerable families. She continues her mission zealously for the recognition of behavior analysis in India so that millions of people with autism and IDD can receive best treatments. She has worked with more than 6000 children with Autism.. She was the Host for the 2016 Delegation from ABA International ACHIEVEMENTS: 2005: Award by Governor Uttar Pradesh, for “Autism Awareness” in U.P. India 2010 Award by Society for Advancement of Behavior Analysis, ABAI, U.S.A 2013 Award by Rotary Metro City, Kolkata, India RESEARCH PRESENTATION: 2018 Würzburg European ABA Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2018 San Diego *ABAI Intl. Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2018 Delhi Pedicon, Poster Presentation 2018 Bangalore BMI Foundation Conf, Oral Presentation 2017 Athens, Greece Hellenic Univ, Invited Keynote 2017 Paris, France *ABAI Intl. Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2017 Denver, USA ABAI Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2017 Delhi, India Skill Development Council of India, Resource Person 2016 Bangalore ABA-India Conf. Paper Presentation 2016 Sicily, Italy European ABA Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2016 Chicago, USA ABAI Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2016 Washington, USA *APBA Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2015 San Antonio, USA ABAI Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2015 Seattle, USA APBA Conf. Poster Presentation 2014 Hyderabad ABA India Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2014 Stockholm, Swaden *EABA Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2014 Kolkata *ICDD Conf. Keynote Presentation 2014 Chicago, USA ABAI Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2014 New Orleans, USA APBA Conf. Paper Presentation 2013 Minneapolis, USA ABAI Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2013 Chennai ABA India Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2012 Portugal EABA Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2012 Seattle, USA ABAI Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2012 Tampa, USA APBA Conf, Panel Discussion 2011 Granada Spain ABAI Conf, Poster Presentation 2011 Denver, USA ABAI Conf. Poster Presentation 2010 San Antonio, USA ABAI Conf. Paper &; Poster Presentation 2009 Oslo, Norway ABAI Intl Conf – Paper Presentation 2009 Phoenix, USA ABAI Conf. Poster Presentation 2009 Florida, USA Autism Conf. Poster Presentation 2008 Atlanta, USA Autism Conf. Poster Presentation 2005 Beijing China ABAI Intl Conf. Paper Presentation *ABAI - Association for Behavior Analysis International *EABA - The European Association for Behavior Analysis *APBA - Association for Professional Behavior Analysts *ICDD - International Conference on Development Disability, University of Kolkata Articles: For Indian Association for Pediatrics Newsletter on Applied Behavior Analysis. Host: for ABA International Delegation from USA (2016) International Workshop Details 2010 Ireland, 2008 Bangladesh, 2004 - 2010 UAE Sharjah - Manzil Dubai - Dubai Autism Centre Dubai – Genesis International Ventures Ras Al Khaimah - ABA Center Sp Needs Abu Dhabi - Zayed Higher Organization for Humanitarian Care India Workshop Details Dr. Smita Awasthi has conducted more than 50 workshops since 2004 – till date across India on interventions to improve vocalization in children with autism. She has conducted various workshops across at least 20 cities A Few Organizers of Workshops: • Min of Social Affairs Chhattisgarh (5 day’s workshop) • Autism Society West Bengal • Sri Ram Chandra Medical University, Chennai • KGMC Medical College, Lucknow • Spastic Society of India, Kanpur • Samvaad Institute of Speech & Hearing MEDIA PARTICIPATION Guest on TV shows in Dubai, 10 episodes on “Good Health show” with Dr. Mansoor (2010), 2 episodes on “Breakfast with Nadia”. Live phone calls on Problem Behv in children- Aired on ARY One - Channel Middle East, South east Asia & Africa

Research Interest

Language Development in Children with Autism. Vocalization in non-vocal children with Autism & IDD. Research in skill acquisition in children with ASD and overcoming autism symptoms.