Family and Peer Relationships of Children and Adolescents with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Transdiagnostic Approach

This webinar is presented by Dr. Judy Wiener, Ph.D.

Date: Wednesday, September 23, 2026

Time: 4:00 pm PT/ 5:00 pm MT/ 6:00 pm CT/ 7:00 pm ET

Webinar length is approx. 90 mins, ZOOM link will be sent in a registration confirmation email and will be emailed directly to you a few days before the event.

In this webinar, Dr. Judy Weiner uses a transdiagnostic approach to synthesize research on the family and peer relationships of children and adolescents with neurodevelopmental disorders (ND). In the first section, Dr. Weiner describes the transdiagnostic characteristics (e.g., difficulties with academic achievement, adaptive skills, social skills, self-regulation, and mental health) of youth with Attention-Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD), learning disabilities (LD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) that affect their family and peer relationships. She presents the basic tenets of Walsh's (Walsh, 2016) theory of family resilience and Belsky's theory of differential susceptibility (Belsky, Zhang & Sayler, 2022).

The second section of the webinar is devoted to family relationships. Dr. Weiner illustrates findings from research on family resilience with a case study of a resilient family with three children who have ND. She then describes how parents of children and adolescents with ND frequently experience high levels of parenting stress and mental health challenges that affect family dynamics. Dr. Weiner presents research on the impact of COVID-19 on youth with ND and their families to illustrate their differential susceptibility to negative environmental factors. She also examines the association between cultural factors and parents' attributions for their children's academic and behavioural challenges, parental involvement in their children's learning, and secure attachment between parents and children. The attachment research was conducted with samples of Jewish Israeli families.

In the third section, Dr. Weiner reviews research on the peer relationships of youth with ND, demonstrating that they are at increased risk for peer rejection, peer victimization, and difficulties in developing friendships. This research includes a study involving a Jewish Israeli sample on cyberbullying among adolescents with LD and ADHD. She discusses the individual (e.g., social skills and self-regulation) and environmental (e.g., inclusive classrooms) factors that predict peer relationship outcomes. Finally, Dr. Weiner describes evidence-based interventions that strengthen family and peer relationships and proposes directions for assessment.

Learning Objectives

1. Participants will learn why a transdiagnostic approach is helpful for understanding individual and environmental factors that are associated with resilience and differential susceptibility of children with ND and their families.
2. Participants will become familiar with the research on family and peer relationships of ND children and adolescents.
3. Participants will be exposed to evidence-based interventions that are associated with improvements in child behaviour, parenting, and peer relationships.

Dr. Judy Wiener is Professor Emerita of School and Clinical Child Psychology in the Department of Applied Psychology and Human Development at OISE/University of Toronto. Dr. Wiener has done research on self-perceptions, family and peer relationships of children and adolescents with ADHD and learning disabilities and the efficacy of school-based and mindfulness interventions for these youth. Her primary clinical expertise is assessment and psychosocial interventions with children and adolescents with learning disabilities and ADHD, and immigrants and refugees.

Judy was previously President of the International Academy for Research in Learning Disabilities and Chair of the Educational and School Psychology Section of the Canadian Psychological Association. She has received several teaching awards from the University of Toronto and lifetime achievement awards from the Canadian Psychological Association and the Section for Psychologists in Education of the Ontario Psychological Association. She has published over 100 book chapters and articles in peer-reviewed journals. She coauthored a book published by Springer Publishers entitled Psychological Assessment of Culturally and Linguistically Diverse Children and Adolescents: A Practitioner's Guide and has recently written and edited a book entitled Family and Peer Relationships of Children and Adolescents with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: Assessment and Intervention that was published by Springer Nature. https://link.springer.com/book/10.1007/978-3-032-03292-8