Services

On-Site Workshop: This workshop can be scheduled at your agency, school, or
program. Behavior Intervention Specialists, Inc can represent Dr. Thompson in making
contractual agreements, scheduling, and travel. The following information should
answer most of your questions regarding the content and Dr. Thompson's credentials.
Information about Behavior Intervention Specialists, Inc is at the bottom of this page, as
is our contact information.

Background and Rationale: Changes in the use of psychotropic medications to treat
individuals with developmental disabilities and behavior challenges is requiring
professionals obtain additional training to strengthen their skills. . Psychopathology
among people with developmental disabilities is increasingly recognized. A wider array
of health care professionals, including behavioral health care nurses, nurse
practitioners, and psychologists will be monitoring effects of psychotropic medications
and prescribing them in the future. Changes have occurred in medications used to
treat behavioral challenges in people with autism and other developmental disabilities.
Newer antidepressants, atypical antipsychotics and mood disorder medications have
replaced older pharmaceuticals. These changes underscore the importance of more
advanced psychopharmacology training for behavioral and other health care
professionals, including physicians, nurses, psychologists and other practitioners.

TRAVIS THOMPSON, Ph.D.
Dr. Travis Thompson is Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of
Minnesota (Minneapolis) where he is affiliated with the Department of Pediatrics Autism
Clinic and the Center for Neurobehavioral Development. He received his doctorate in
Psychology at the University of Minnesota and did postdoctoral training at the University
of Maryland and advanced behavioral science training at Cambridge University (UK).
He spent several years as the Executive Program Director of a community-based
behavior therapy program for young children with autism spectrum disorders in
Minneapolis, MN where he directly supervised services to a large number of children
with ASD. He has served as a consultant to public school autism programs in
Minneapolis and St. Paul, MN and Nashville TN. He is a licensed psychologist
(Minnesota).

Travis Thompson has worked in the field of developmental disabilities as a researcher,
teacher and clinician for over 30 years. He was previously Director of the John F.
Kennedy Center for Research on Human Development at Vanderbilt University, and the
Institute for Child Development (University of Kansas Medical Center). He was co-editor
of one of the first books concerned with behavior therapy methods for individuals with
developmental disabilities. He has published over 220 articles and chapters and 27
books, including Self-Injurious Behavior: Genes-Brain and Behavior (with Schroeder
and Oster-Granite) published in 2001 and International Handbook of Applied Research
in Intellectual Disability (with Emerson, Hatton and Parmenter, 2004). He has been an
invited speaker in 13 countries and 40 states within the U.S.   He has held numerous
offices and received awards for his work in developmental disabilities including serving
as President of the Division on Mental Retardation & Developmental Disabilities (33) of
the American Psychological Association. He was recipient of the Don Hake Award of
Division 25 of the American Psychological Association for "Exceptional Contributions to
Basic Behavioral Research and its Applications”. Thompson was recipient of the
American Association for Mental Retardation Research Award (1995), the Arc USA
Distinguished Research Award (1996), and the Academy on Mental Retardation Career
Research Award (1998). He has served on numerous national committees, including
the Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities Research Committee of the
National Institute of Child Health & Human Development as well as other federal
agencies and the American Psychological Association. He has previously served as a
member of professional advisory committees to autism parent advocacy organizations
in Minnesota and Kansas.

Workshop Objectives
1. Attendees will define drug route of administration, absorption, distribution and
excretion.
2. Attendees will describe receptor and transporter and their functions, and give
examples of agonist, antagonist and reuptake inhibitor medications.
3. Participants will describe the differences between typical and atypical antipsychotics
and give an example of each.
4. Participants will describe the differences between cyclic antidepressants and newer
SSRI antidepressants including their side effects.
5. Participants will give 3 examples of mood disorder medications used to treat problem
behavior in developmental disabilities and their side effects.
6. Attendees will describe the physiological and behavioral effects of propanalol and
clonidine.
7. Attendees will give an example of a behavioral challenge treated with naltrexone and
describe the most typical topography of the behavior.
8. Participants will describe how a functional assessment may be useful in developing
an integrated behavioral and pharmacological treatment strategy.

Who Should Attend: This workshop will provide essential information for nurses (RN,
LPN), program administrators, physicians, psychologists, QMRPs, social workers,
special educators, direct care providers, and families of service recipients. The
procedures can be implemented across a variety of settings – such as group homes,
residential facilities, workshops, school settings, and supervised employment sites.

Workshop Format: The format of the workshop will include lecture with Power Point
graphics.

Workshop Agenda

8:00   Registration & Coffee with breakfast snacks
8:30   Principles of Drug Action; Brain Chemistry & Receptor Pharmacology;
Differential Diagnosis
10:45   Neuroleptic Drugs; Dopamine Brain Mechanisms; Atypical Neuroleptics: Efficacy
& Side Effects
11:45   Lunch
12:45   Antidepressants with Anti-anxiety Properties; Mood Disorder Medications;
Adrenergic Medications
2:15   Naltrexone for Self Injury; Integrating Medication and Behavioral Interventions
3:30   Adjourn – complete evaluation, pick-up certificates

About Behavior Intervention Specialists, Inc
Since 1985, we have sponsored over 850 training workshops in 44 states and two
Canadian provinces, with total attendance of over 38,000. Workshop topics have
included -- active treatment, aggression, autism, behavioral diagnostics, dual diagnosis,
functional analysis, medication, self-injurious behavior, sexuality, social skills training,
and traumatic head injury.

Additional Information: Please call Dr. Walt Antonow at 662-234-1640 for any
additional information regarding the workshop, or if you have questions about the cost
of the workshop and/or Dr. Thompson's availability..