Many autistic adults struggle to find or keep housing that meets their needs. In this presentation, independent-living specialist Tracy Miller and housing-rights advocate Erika Sanders will present information about various housing options and housing rights that apply to autistic adults, including financial considerations and disability
Many autistic adults struggle to find or keep housing that meets their needs. In this presentation, independent-living specialist Tracy Miller and housing-rights advocate Erika Sanders will present information about various housing options and housing rights that apply to autistic adults, including financial considerations and disability accommodations. A multi-background panel and community roundtable discussions will offer opportunities to go deeper after the presentation.
Tracy Miller is an Independent Living Specialist with Access to Independence, the Independent Living Center in Madison that serves a 4-county service area in south central Wisconsin. She has developed her expertise on housing rights and resources in over forty years of working with and advocating for people with all types of disabilities. In the early 1990s, she helped to plan and implement what is believed to be one of the first training conferences ever offered on the topic of Fair Housing and disability.
Many autistic adults struggle to find or keep housing that meets their needs. In this presentation, independent-living specialist Tracy Miller and housing-rights advocate Erika Sanders will present information about various housing options and housing rights that apply to autistic adults, including financial considerations and disability
Many autistic adults struggle to find or keep housing that meets their needs. In this presentation, independent-living specialist Tracy Miller and housing-rights advocate Erika Sanders will present information about various housing options and housing rights that apply to autistic adults, including financial considerations and disability accommodations. A multi-background panel and community roundtable discussions will offer opportunities to go deeper after the presentation.
Erika Sanders, Director of Program Services for the Metropolitan Milwaukee Fair Housing Council (MMFHC), has been with the organization since 1998. She supervises MMFHC’s statewide Outreach and Education Program and creates informational campaigns to combat illegal housing discrimination and promote integrated, inclusive communities. She also provides technical assistance and presentations to social service agencies and religious, community, neighborhood, and academic groups, and conducts training for owners and managers of rental housing. Ms Sanders holds degrees from Oberlin College and the University of Wisconsin – Madison.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the general public found themselves struggling to navigate the changes to society while autistic people self-advocated and evaluated their needs and environments in remarkable ways. This presentation looks at the impact of the pandemic on autistic adults, both from a health context and from a strengths-based
During the COVID-19 pandemic, the general public found themselves struggling to navigate the changes to society while autistic people self-advocated and evaluated their needs and environments in remarkable ways. This presentation looks at the impact of the pandemic on autistic adults, both from a health context and from a strengths-based opportunity for advocacy. Madeline Barger shares research and client stories while promoting autistic people as the model for advocacy and systemic change, and highlights what everyone can learn about various self-care and re-emergence topics from the minds of autistic adults. Further perspectives and possibilities will be discussed in the panel and community conversations after the presentation.
Madeline Barger, MS, LMFT, BCBA, AASECT-CST is a Licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Board Certified Behavior Analyst, and Certified Sex Therapist with the American Association of Sex Educators, Counselors, and Therapists. Barger brings gratitude and learning from her 11-year neurodivergent relationship at home, and her extensive experience with autistic adults in clinical practice and the community. Madeline provides consultation on a national scale for people supporting autistic adults with relationships, including friendship, intimate relationships, and sexuality within her private practice, Madison Mind, LLC. Barger is also the Lead Clinician and Program Lead for autistic teens and adults in the Waisman Center Treatment Programs wherein she serves teens and adults, their families both individually and in the group context, to explore and meet their personal goals.
The concept of dignity is widely used yet rarely defined. What is dignity? Why is it socially and emotionally important? What does it mean for autistic adults to be able to live with dignity? Counselor, community leader, and self-advocate Scott Allen will offer a framework to show how dignity can be much more than a widely used buzzword -
The concept of dignity is widely used yet rarely defined. What is dignity? Why is it socially and emotionally important? What does it mean for autistic adults to be able to live with dignity? Counselor, community leader, and self-advocate Scott Allen will offer a framework to show how dignity can be much more than a widely used buzzword - it's a key moral, personal, and interpersonal idea that applies to mental health, relationships, and even the structure of our society. Join Scott in the community conversation after this presentation to share your ideas about how you understand and experience dignity, and how you want others to acknowledge and respect it.
Scott Allen, MS is a practicing counselor on the autism spectrum who specializes in work with autistic adults, as well as their families and partners. He cofacilitates an empowerment group called AS WE ARE for college students on the autism spectrum through the UW-Madison McBurney Disability Resource Center, and serves as a board member of the Autism Society of South-Central Wisconsin (ASC). He is also the facilitator for the ASC's autistic adult support and social groups. Scott is the co-founder and coordinator of the INTEGRAL Adult Autism Conference, the first of its kind in Wisconsin.