The INTEGRAL Autistic Adults and Allies Conference of Madison, WI, is calling for presentation proposals about the needs, rights, advocacy, and empowerment of autistic adults
In order to emphasize the urgent need for more leaders within the autism community (autistic or non-autistic), we are treating this year’s conference as a summit: to identify goals and make plans to lead and engage in advocacy through action.
Autistic adults and their allies must work to build stronger communities and networks of support while defending access to essential services. How to identify, prioritize, and take action on such needs and goals are this year’s key themes.
Friday, July 24th, 2026 at 11:59 P.M. Central Time
Deadline for presentation proposal submissions
*Late submissions will not be accepted
Sunday, August 1st, 2026
The proposal-review process will conclude and acceptance emails will be sent
Saturday, November 7th, 2026
INTEGRAL Conference
Goodman Community Center
9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Central Time
All presenters will:
Funding for travel, airfare, lodging, etc. is unfortunately not available
We are unable to offer an honorarium for presenters
Presentations for INTEGRAL 2026 should be about the needs, rights, advocacy, and collective empowerment of autistic adults in the U.S. in these particularly challenging times. We are interested in presenters who can address collective empowerment, how to improve autistic resilience (particularly at the level of communities), and address social stigma - morally, conceptually, and structurally.
Key themes include:
Building connections between autistic adults and non-autistic allies is our mission, so experts & advocates who can address organizational, community-building, disability-rights, and similar concerns in ways that build bridges across communities and institutions are preferred.
This year INTEGRAL will select up to three (3) 20-minute presentations for the conference, all of which to be followed by facilitated, audience-led conversations in which presenters will also participate.
Presentations will follow this format:
We strongly prefer that you participate in the community conversations and that you suggest specific questions or talking points to us in advance.
Visual aids, such as videos or slide decks, are optional but preferred in presentations.
Last year, INTEGRAL ended with a call to action: “What will you do?” This year, we invite mini-presentations for a potential session to highlight community-member actions toward positive change for autistic adults. Four (4) to six (6) mini-presentations will be selected. This session will only take place if at least four mini-presentations are submitted.
Mini-Presentation: Give a 5-minute presentation about something you have contributed to INTEGRAL's mission within the past year, such as: an action taken, goal pursued, impact made, or connection built between autistic adults and non-autistic allies.
Mini-presentations can also be in the form of short videos in lieu of in-person presentations for this session.
Once all mini-presentations are delivered, there would be 25 minutes of small-group discussion and 50 minutes of whole-audience conversation, as in the other sessions.
If your mini-presentation includes opportunities for attendees to get involved with other autism-related efforts, consider sharing your contact information and/or places for audience members to get more information.
In-person and virtual participation is offered for both presenters and participants.
It is recommended that presenters provide their own laptop and, if necessary, other equipment for their presentation.
Microphones and a projector system will be provided by the Goodman Community Center
*INTEGRAL will provide a laptop if necessary, but presenters must then either-e-mail their presentation in advance or bring a flash drive by which to transfer it.
INTEGRAL’s mission is to close the gap between the many unmet needs of autistic adults and the very limited research on the needs, strengths, goals, and values of autistic adults. Our approach to addressing this problem is to bring autistic adults (who have the life experience) together in the same place with non-autistic parents and professionals (who have the influence and resources) in order to learn from each other and figure out how to collaborate better.
We are an autism-affirming, pro-neurodiversity organization. While we understand that some autistic issues may be best viewed through a medical-model lens, we primarily endorse a biopsychosocial model that recognizes the full complexity of the autism phenomenon and emphasizes the full and irreducible humanity of autistic people.
We take an inclusive approach to presenters and autistic issues, since autism is such a complex state of being. We emphasize a mutually humanizing, collaborative approach with a largely informal tone. Approachable, relatable conversations between all participants, including presenters, are a top priority for us.
We are more than happy to offer guidance on how to interact with an audience with a large percentage of autistic adults, if desired. We know that not all presenters have had such an experience, and it is exactly the kind of experience we want more experts, specialists, and supporters to have! We are here to make meaningful, lasting connections, not to be standoffish against one another - hence, “Growing Stronger Together.”
INTEGRAL does not require anyone to have an autism diagnosis. We know that there are hurdles to receiving a diagnosis, especially for women and people of color, so a formal diagnosis is not required of any participant. We are committed to serving anyone who is or may be autistic, regardless of labels.