October 2025 ICC Miller School of Medicine

Insight & Impact: Mental Health Care for Adults with Intellectual Disabilities and/or Autism

Wednesday, October 15th, 2025 | 9:00am – 4:00pm

Join us for a powerful day of learning, connection, and action at the Innovation and Connection Conference, a one-of-a-kind virtual event dedicated to transforming mental health for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and autism. As growing numbers of youth and young adults with IDD transition from pediatric to adult systems of care—and as adults with IDD navigate persistent service gaps—this event will shine a light on the critical mental health needs too often overlooked in mainstream systems.

Through evidence-based approaches and real-world stories, this event brings together a diverse community of health care providers, mental health professionals, families, and advocates to participate in this important dialogue.

Agenda

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Credit Designation
- Florida Board for LCSW, LMFT and LMHC approved 6.0 CE credit, Provider # BAP Exp. Date 3/31/2027.
- 6.0 CE credit approved for psychology. Mailman Center is approved by the American Psychological Association to sponsor continuing education for psychologists.
- 0.5 ASHA CEUs.
Learning Objectives
Upon completion of this event:
- Participants will be able to describe key mental health challenges affecting individuals with IDD and autism.
- Participants will be able to recognize mental health needs and care gaps during the transition to adulthood.
- Participants will be able to apply strategies that support mental health in home, clinical, and community settings.
- Participants will investigate how inclusive research advances mental health practice and policy.
- Participants will apply evidence-informed tools to guide interdisciplinary mental health care.
Meet Our Speakers

Dolly Marie Ferraiuolo

Dr. Dolly Ferraiuolo, LCSW-QS, CST, is a licensed clinical social worker, board-certified sex therapist, and expert witness specializing in trauma, neurodiversity, and forensic behavioral health. She is the founder and CEO of Ferra Forensics, a statewide expert witness agency providing court-admissible biopsychosocial evaluations for criminal and family court, and the clinical director of SHARE Therapy & Wellness, a trauma-informed group practice in Clearwater, Florida.

As an autistic clinician and doctoral-trained sexologist, Dr. Ferraiuolo’s work centers on the
intersection of autism, trauma, and alternative intimacy. Her doctoral research and forthcoming book, BONDED: The Autistic’s Guide to the Healing Nature of Kink, explores how consent-based alternative intimacy frameworks can foster regulation, autonomy, and healing for neurodivergent individuals. She is the creator of the BONDED model, a therapeutic intervention that promotes communication, empowerment, and sensory-informed intimacy in clinical settings.

With over a decade of leadership across forensic mental health, sexual health, and trauma recovery, Dr. Ferraiuolo is also a seasoned behavioral health consultant, speaker, and educator. Her expertise includes alternative intimacy, navigating neurodivergent intimacy, complex trauma, attachment theory, complex personalities, and orgasm equity. She delivers trainings nationwide to legal teams, clinicians, and academic institutions, and is a passionate advocate for inclusive, affirming care for marginalized communities. Dr. Ferraiuolo now seeks to bring her interdisciplinary perspective to academia through research, teaching, and faculty leadership in social work education.

Jonathan Tolentino

Dr. Tolentino joined the UM/JMH Med-Peds Program in March 2020, as the Program Director, and is Associate Professor of Internal Medicine and Pediatrics at the University of Miami. He has over 15 years of experience in graduate medical education in Med-Peds program leadership. Upon completion of his chief year, he was Associate Program Director for the Internal Medicine Residency Program and Assistant Program Director for the Internal Medicine-Pediatrics Residency program at the University of Cincinnati. He was then recruited to Stony Brook University, where he served as Med-Peds Program Director from 2015 - 2020.

Dr. Tolentino brings his past clinical experiences in care for young adults with special health care needs, cystic fibrosis, and adult survivors of childhood cancers to UM/JMH. He is passionate about working with the underserved and vulnerable, LGBTQ+ community, and working to reduce health care disparities affecting Latine and Asian communities. He is active nationally and has served in national leadership roles in the Med-Peds Program Directors Association (MPPDA), Society for General Internal Medicine, and APDIM, and former on the MPPDA executive committee. He considers himself big “M” and big “P,” and believes that Med-Peds physicians truly are the “mighty generalists.” He works clinically as a primary care physician, a transition medicine specialist, and as an adult and pediatric hospitalist. His interests include resident medical education, primary care, adult survivorship of pediatric cancer, transition from childhood to adulthood care, quality improvement, vulnerable populations and health disparities, and medical education research.

Andrea Caoili
Dr. Andrea Caoili is a licensed clinical social worker with more than 15 years of experience in the field of mental health. She received her doctoral degree in education with a focus on learning, leadership, and community. She is the Director of Research and Quality Assurance at the National Center for START Services and is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Social Work at UNH. In her work with NCSS, Andrea oversees and supports START programs with meeting model fidelity and program certification and oversees the research and evaluation activities of the Center. Andrea has experience in practicing and training other clinicians in wellness-based, positive interventions for persons with IDD. She is also interested in applied and participatory research in IDD-MH and measurement development.

Alexis Bitting
Dr. Bitting is a Licensed Mental Health Counselor and has a Ph.D. in Clinical Sexology. She has specialized experience working with children, teens, and adults with social and developmental delays, including autism spectrum disorder, ADHD, intellectual disabilities, and other developmental delays for over 15 years. Dr. Bitting provides individual, family and group therapy focused on emotional, social, and behavioral issues. She has specialized experience working with anxiety including generalized anxiety, social anxiety, specific phobias, and OCD. She also treats individuals with depression, anger management, personality disorders, emotion regulation challenges, social skills deficits, and much more. Her doctorate in Clinical Sexology provides her with specialized training in working with LGBTQ+ clients as well as providing healthy relationship and sexual education to children, teens, and adults, particularly those with social and developmental delays.

Joan Beasley
Dr. Beasley is a Research Professor and Director of the National Research Consortium in MH-IDD, Institute on Disability, College of Health and Human Services at the University of New Hampshire. Dr. Beasley is a licensed mental health counselor and holds a Ph.D. in mental Health policy from the Heller School at Brandeis University. She developed the cross systems framework on which she built and served as the principal author and investigator of the START model, first implemented in 1988, a cross-systems crisis prevention and intervention evidence informed program to improve capacity for effective mental health services. In recent years, her work has emphasized the conduct of more inclusive research and the development of methods to make mental health services more accessible, effective and meaningful for people with IDD. Dr. Beasley is currently the Principal Investigator/lead on several national studies in the US that emphasize inclusive research, measures of effective services and the promotion of mental health/well-being for people with IDD and mental health service experiences. She also mentors students, researchers and policy leaders to improve research, policies and practices across the U.S and abroad. In addition to her work at UNH, her efforts include work with Georgetown University. She also serves as a visiting scholar at Brandeis University.

Felicia Gallucci
Dr. Felicia Gallucci is a board-certified psychiatrist and child and adolescent psychiatrist, and an Assistant Professor of Clinical Psychiatry at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine. Dr. Gallucci completed her general psychiatry residency at Carilion Clinic–Virginia Tech School of Medicine, followed by a fellowship in child and adolescent psychiatry at Jackson Health/University of Miami, where she served as Chief Fellow. Her clinical and research interests focus on expanding access to care for underserved populations — including individuals with eating disorders, members of the LGBTQ+ community, perinatal patients, and youth in school-based settings. Dr. Gallucci has published extensively in peer-reviewed journals and academic texts and is a frequent presenter at professional conferences. In addition to her clinical and academic work, she is deeply involved in the development of specialized training programs and outpatient treatment services.
FAQs

What disability accommodations are available?
Live captioning will be enabled through Zoom.
Is there a fee to attend the conference?
No, the conference itself is free of charge.
How can I earn continuing education credits for the virtual conference?
To receive CEUs or a certificate, participants must attend the entire conference. Participants will also need to complete the Assessment/Evaluation Survey which will be posted in the chat or through the QR Code displayed at the end of the conference.
Where can I find more information?
If you have any questions, please reach out to Roselyne Antao, RAntao@med.miami.edu | 305-243-6135
Speaker Disclosures

Dolly Marie Ferraiuolo:
Relevant Non-Financial Relationships: No relevant non-financial relationship exists.
Relevant Financial Relationship: Receives a salary from SHARE of Florida LLC.
Jonathan Tolentino:
Relevant Non-Financial Relationships: No relevant non-financial relationship exists.
Relevant Financial Relationships: Receives a salary from the University of Miami.
Andrea Caoili:
Relevant Non-Financial Relationships: No relevant non-financial relationship exists.
Relevant Financial Relationships: Receives a salary from the University of New Hampshire IOD.
Felicia Gallucci:
Relevant Non-Financial Relationships: No relevant non-financial relationship exists.
Relevant Financial Relationships: Receives a salary from the University of Miami.
Joan Beasley:

Relevant Non-Financial Relationships: No relevant non-financial relationship exists.
Relevant Financial Relationships: Receives a salary from the University of New Hampshire.

Alexis Bitting:

Relevant Non-Financial Relationships: No relevant non-financial relationship exists.
Relevant Financial Relationships: Receives a salary from Pediatric Psychology Associates.

Time	Presentation
9:00 - 9:10am	Welcome
9:10 - 10:00am	Beyond the Myths and Bridging the Gap: Confronting Mental Health, Intellectual and Developmental Disability, and the Diagnostic Divide Amid Provider Shortages
10:00 - 11:00am	Thriving in Transitions: Weaving in Mental Health into Healthy Transitions to Adulthood
11:15 - 12:15pm	Framing the Landscape: Autism in Adulthood & Mental Health Needs
12:15 - 12:45pm	Lunch
12:45 - 1:45pm	Supporting mental health in young adults with ID/DD
1:45 - 2:00pm	Break
2:00 - 3:30pm	All About Community: Participatory Research Approaches in Mental Health and IDD
3:30 - 4:00pm	Wrap up