Flaviana Bianco

Flaviana Bianco is a Medical Doctor and Child and Adolescent Pediatric Neurologist, currently working as Medical Director of the day-care center and dedicated ambulatory for Autism at Fondazione Oltre le Parole in Pescara and Chieti, Italy. She holds a PhD in Developmental Neuroscience from the Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore in Rome and has extensive clinical experience in neurodevelopmental disorders, with a particular focus on Autism Spectrum Disorder, ADHD and neuromuscular diseases. Her professional approach integrates clinical neuropsychiatry, psychopharmacology and evidence-based behavioral interventions within a multidisciplinary framework aimed at improving functioning and Quality of Life. She completed advanced training in behavioral psychopharmacology for neurodevelopmental disorders and a postgraduate Master’s degree in Healthcare Management. She has served as lecturer in university and postgraduate courses and regularly participates in national scientific meetings on autism, neurodevelopmental disorders and disability. She is author and co-author of numerous peer-reviewed scientific publications in the fields of child neuropsychiatry and neuromuscular disorders.

Presentation at the ABA International Conference 2027

INTEGRATING PSYCHOPHARMACOLOGY AND BEHAVIOR ANALYSIS IN INTELLECTUAL AND DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

A synergistic pathway toward better quality of life

Abstract:

Challenging behaviors in people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and intellectual disability (ID) cannot be adequately understood—or treated—when they are reduced to isolated psychiatric symptoms. They may serve communicative, socio-environmental, or regulatory functions and may also represent expressions of physical or psychological distress. Diagnostic interpretation is further complicated by intellectual distortion, psychosocial masking, cognitive disorganization, and amplification of habitual behavior. Psychopharmacology should therefore not be conceived as an alternative to behavioral assessment, but as one component of an integrated, person-centered clinical pathway.

The presentation illustrates this approach through clinical cases in which systematic behavioral observation, functional and adaptive assessment, physiological measures, and longitudinal data collection were combined with carefully monitored pharmacological interventions. Outcomes were evaluated not only through changes in the frequency, duration, or intensity of target behaviors, but also through clinically meaningful indicators of functioning and quality of life. The cases show how changes in psychopharmacological treatment can be interpreted more accurately when they are embedded within continuous behavioral measurement and ecological observation.

Keywords: psychopharmacology; behavior analysis; intellectual disability; autism spectrum disorder; challenging behavior; functional assessment; quality of life; multidisciplinary care.

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