Webinar Series
Building a Bridge at the Cliff: Research Supporting Adults w/ASD
SungWoo Kahng (Rutgers University)
Date: July 15, 2025
Time: 11:00 AM Eastern
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Abstract: When young adults w/ASD complete secondary education, they are faced with the service “cliff” in which they lose access to a multitude of supports. This loss of support is reflected in the lack of research addressing the unique support needs of adults w/ASD. Decades of research has supported the efficacy of ABA-based interventions to treat the symptoms related to ASD (e.g., language, social skills, problem behaviors). Despite the wide-scale recognition, questions remain about the efficacy of ABA-based interventions with adults with ASD because most of the research has been conducted with younger learners. Adults with ASD present unique challenges given their physical size, different treatment goals, and long reinforcement history. Research focused on adults will provide additional evidenced-based interventions, which may provide data to provide more support for this population. This presentation will include examples of clinical research with adults with ASD in employment and college settings.
Instruction Level: Intermediate
Learning Objectives:
- Identify the need for additional research on supports for adults w/ASD
- Identify research supporting adults in acquiring employment
- Identify research supporting adults in maintaining employment
Biography: Dr. SungWoo Kahng is the Chair of the Department of Applied Psychology, Director of Academic Programs in Autism and ABA, and a Professor at Rutgers University. Previously, he was an associate professor at the University of Missouri (MU), where he also served as Chair of the Department of Health Psychology, Founding Director of the MU Graduate Programs in Applied Behavior Analysis, and Director of the Applied Behavioral Intervention Service at the MU Thompson Center for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disorders. Dr. Kahng has held faculty positions in the Department of Behavioral Psychology and worked as a senior behavior analyst on the Neurobehavioral Unit at the Kennedy Krieger Institute. Additionally, he was an associate professor in the Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine.
Dr. Kahng earned his Bachelor of Arts in Psychology from Kalamazoo College and his Ph.D. in behavior analysis from the University of Florida. He has served as an Associate Editor and on the Board of Editors for the Journal of Applied Behavior Analysis. He is currently on the Board of Editors for Behavioral Intervention and the Review Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders.
A New Jersey Licensed Behavior Analyst and Board Certified Behavior Analyst, Dr. Kahng is a Fellow of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, a Trustee of the Cambridge Center for Behavioral Studies, and a Trustee for the Autism MVP Foundation. He has been the President of the Board of Directors of the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, the Applied Representative to the Executive Council of the Association for Behavior Analysis International, a member of the Scientific Council of the Organization for Autism Research, and a Past President of the New Jersey Association for Behavior Analysis.
Dr. Kahng received the 2003 B.F. Skinner New Researcher Award from Division 25 of the American Psychological Association. His research and clinical work focus on assessing and treating complex problem behaviors in individuals with developmental disabilities. His broader research interests include employment and college supports for adults with autism spectrum disorder, as well as obesity and aging. Dr. Kahng has mentored numerous undergraduate, master’s, and predoctoral students, as well as postdoctoral fellows, and has co-authored over 100 peer-reviewed articles and chapters.
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