ICONz Associates
Russell R. Johnson, Ph.D., NCSP
Dr. Russ Johnson
Dr. Russ Johnson is a licensed psychologist and certified school psychologist with over 25 years of experience consulting and working in schools and hospitals including Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic (WPIC) at the University of Pittsburgh, Mercy Hospital of Pittsburgh and McLean Hospital at Harvard University. He was also a Visiting Researcher at the Boys Town Center for the Study of Youth Development.
Located in the Squirrel Hill section of Pittsburgh, Dr. Johnson maintains an active evaluation and psychotherapy practice with adults and adolescents who are on the autism spectrum as well as neuro-typical children, adults and families. He has developed original assessment instruments and adapted other instruments to enhance the personal and work outcomes and quality of life for individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).
Through his work with clients and their families, and with Dr. Nancy Minshew at the NIH Autism Center of Excellence (ACE) at the University of Pittsburgh, Dr. Johnson recognized that verbal adolescents and adults with ASD are underserved since most ASD services and products are oriented toward children. To address the special needs of this underserved group, Dr. Johnson and his associates developed the Autism Prosocial Tool (APT)TM, a set of specialized products and services.
Working with clients, it quickly became clear to Dr. Johnson that when one member of a family has ASD, everyone in the family is affected. Therefore, he takes a “family systems” approach to working with individuals and their families whenever it is clinically appropriate. Dr. Johnson and colleagues currently use the APT TM in private practice, and in addition to clinical work, continue training and research on the APTTM.
Teaching Therapists and Helpers to Use the APTTM – To increase effective use of the APTTM, Dr. Johnson has developed a two-pronged approach, utilizing both didactic and experiential teaching methods which target therapists and family members.
The Team at ICONz Associates
The didactic portion of the training includes current theory and research on ASD and the use of existing videotaped interviews with clients with ASD, their family members, and with teachers and professionals working with persons who have ASD.
The experiential piece of the training involves a method employed by Dr. Johnson which is called the “Trio and Scenario Method.” This training approach involves a group of three therapists (or helpers) who alternately take one of three roles (observer, helper or client) in a work group. This enables the participants to experience some of the issues that inevitably arise when working with individuals with ASD and their families. This teaching method has been used by Dr. Johnson at the Katz Graduate School of Business, University of Pittsburgh, the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS), and the Art Institute of Pittsburgh—all with notable success.