Disability as Possibility
by Hari Srinivasan
Hari shares insights gathered through his personal experience of autism and discusses his research on the impact of labeling and expectations on life outcomes for students and youth with disabilities. He challenges professionals, educators, and providers to be game changers - adopting a growth mindset, an emphatic discipline, and an approach of "equity of access" to support and guide students and youth with disabilities to create their own personal agency and long-term quality of life. Through that understanding and ability to see ‘disability as possibility’, opportunities are born from those possibilities so students and youth can take detours, challenge the sinkholes, pave new roads, and persevere.
Exploring Friendship and a Call for Non-Autistic Self-Education
by Madeline Barger, MS, BCBA, LMFT, CST
Autistic adults have long been misdiagnosed, misunderstood, and excluded from many important aspects of society and the opportunities given to neurotypical people to forge neurotypical relationships. This presentation is an exploration of beautiful relationships (friendships, family relationships, intimate relationships) from 12 years of clinical experience. Madeline Barger will share various steps, support strategies, and guidelines for various types of relationships and will provide case studies that represent the incredible, myth-busting power of neurodivergent love.
Tell Me About Yourself: Autistic Secrets to Job Interview Success
by Hunter Hansen
Maintaining eye contact, scripting answers, & anticipating unknowns: the job entry experience can be a daunting one for autistic people. In this presentation, we'll explore how autistic people with any level of work experience can leverage their neurodivergent strengths and navigate obstacles to tackle the challenge of job interviews.
Wait, That Affects Executive Functioning?
by Doug Blecher
This presentation will cover the basics of executive functioning, then address other areas that affect executive functioning yet you might not commonly hear about. If you have tried many different executive functioning strategies and they haven’t been successful for you, this may be the presentation you need to hear.
Roundtable #1
This roundtable is an opportunity to join other participants in discussing the topic of personal relationships, including but not limited to friendships. Social, emotional, practical, and cultural aspects of personal relationships are all welcome in this conversation, including what autistic adults would like others to improve on in their relationships.
Roundtable #2
This roundtable is an opportunity to join other participants in discussing the topic of employment for autistic adults, including job searches, job applications, job interviews, wages, and navigating workplace politics. How to meet society's expectations about employment, and how to change society's expectations about employment for the better through advocacy, are both welcome in this conversation.
Roundtable #3
This roundtable is an opportunity to join other participants in discussing the topic of executive functioning challenges, which represent a complex and little-studied issue affecting many autistic adults. Since executive function is very individualized, your personal experiences and strategies will be especially welcome in this conversation.
*All participants are encouraged (but not required) to ask questions, raise concerns, express opinions, and learn from others regarding each topic.