Geneva Centre for Autism International Virtual Symposium 2022

All recorded sessions will be available until
November 30th

Something for Everyone


Educators

Educators

As an educator, one of the greatest challenges is to easily implement knowledge into practical teaching. The GCA International Symposium provides unique content from each speaker that is adaptable, practical and easy to implement in a classroom environment.

Individuals / Parents

Individuals / Parents

GCA’s International Symposium offers a wide range of topics and expert advice from diverse speakers. It allows you to address your challenges and explore different perspectives in the field of Autism.

Practitioners

Practitioners

For a clinical practitioner, the GCA International Symposium is a river of new ideas with access to the latest and greatest science, research and data in the field of Autism. An arena of access to evolving knowledge in the field, the Symposium is a sea of learning opportunities.

About Symposium

Since 1986, Geneva Centre for Autism has been hosting this pre-eminent international conference on autism, bringing together professionals, educators, parents and researchers from around the world, and focusing on the leading research and clinical practices in the field of autism.


WHERE

Virtual Event

WHEN

November 2-4, 2022

 

Conference Agenda


All times shown below are in EDT (Eastern Daylight Time)

  10:00 AM

  10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

LIVE only

Session description: In this keynote presentation, participants will learn research-based advice on including autistic students. Dr. Kluth will talk about how language drives practice Read more

and how important it is to move away from seeing inclusion as a place. Other topics that will be addressed include listening to the voices of autistic people, integrating interests and fascinations, and taking an "inclusion inventory". Come for the research and the stories and stay to hear about the "birthday present test" and the 3 problems with the deficit model in education.

  11:30 AM

  12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

LIVE only

Session description: After hearing ideas that inspire inclusion in the keynote, join Dr. Kluth for a breakout session to learn more about including all students at the lesson level. Read more

In this session, participants will learn several practical ways to support students in inclusive classrooms. Dr. Kluth will offer a range of ideas for linking communication and curriculum (e.g., standards-based choice boards), provide suggestions for social supports (e.g., social "slam book", portable pals), and encourage the use of movement as a behavior and learning support.

Being Recorded

Session description: A healthful day includes appropriate amounts of physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep. How we distribute our time in these movement behaviors is potentially the most relevant lifestyle risk factor of our time. Read more

In this session, you will learn about how time-use in autistic individuals can contribute to health inequities and learn strategies to promote healthful movement in this population. Session attendees will learn about the factors that shape movement behaviors in autistic individuals across the lifespan, and learn about methods to promote healthful movement among this population.

At the end of this session, you will be able to:
  • Describe the development and patterns of movement (i.e., physical activity, sedentary behavior, and sleep) in autistic individuals, and the consequences of how we move for health and wellbeing.
  • Identity the factors the influence movement behaviors for autistic individuals.
  • Apply methods to promote healthful movement and physical literacy for autistic individuals.

Being Recorded

Session description: Jude shows that autistic people are among the most talented, and driven people the world has to offer.Read more

Given the dreadful unemployment rate among the autistic population, Jude shows that entrepreneurship can be the right path for autistic people. In the corporate world, Jude helps organisations to remove unconscious negative bias toward autistic people. Think about it? How can autistic people thrive and succeed in any workplace, if there is ingrained unconscious negative bias? The outcome of this talk, is to remove the the unconscious bias the audience holds - even if they know it or not!

Jude Morrow

Autistic Entrepreneur, TEDx Speaker, Consultant, Philanthropist

  1:00 PM

  1:30 PM - 3:00 PM
Exploring Heterogeneity in ASD: From Bench, to Brain to Lived Experience

Being Recorded

Session description: Dr Anagnostou will discuss new evidence that helps us understand heterogeneity in ASD as well as overlap with other neurodevelopmental conditions.Read more

She will discuss implications for discovery of therapeutics and relevance to the stakeholder priorities.

Learning objectives:

  • The audience will be able to describe what we mean by heterogeneity and pleiotropy in autism research
  • The audience will be able to discuss the implications of these understanding to core and associated symptoms and targets for therapies
  • The audience will learn about the Ontario stakeholder research priorities and how such priorities can be linked to new biological understandings of heterogeneity

Being Recorded

Session description: This session will address the research study and practical application of ABA services provided to adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and autism.Read more

Through the program, participants ages 16 and over participate in individual and group services that focus on building skills for community integration. Individualized skills are taught through both discrete trial training and natural environment training to ensure skills are learned and then generalized in the community. Focus is often on skills learned in early intervention and made age-appropriate, if core skills are missing to attain larger community goals. Skills focus on employment, volunteer, recreation, and home routines that are practiced in both individual and community settings. Data is measured on the acquisition and generalization of each skill. This is delivered in both group and individual sessions – with the goal of individualized skill building rather than solely group learning and application. Research conducted in 2017 will be reviewed where 19 participants ages 16 to 33 years old participated in a five-week summer intensive behavior skill building and habilitation training course offered to adults with moderate to severe intellectual disabilities at the local college. Results demonstrated increases in skill building and maintenance, quality of life, and high satisfaction by parents and supports.

Learning Objectives:
At the conclusion of this session, participants will be able to

  • Describe the socio-ecological model of disability
  • Describe two different ways that early intervention skills can be generalized and maintained in age-appropriate manners for youth and adults
  • Describe a research study that evaluated a short-term ABA skill building program at a college

Carmen Hall, PhD, BCBA-D

 Offers 1.5 Credits

Being Recorded

Session description: Feeding disorders range in severity from mild selectivity (e.g., picky eating) to complete refusal and can result in serious health ramifications,Read more

including weight loss, growth delays, and developmental delays. In this presentation, I will describe the heterogeneity of feeding disorders, how they are conceptualized from a behavior analytic perspective, and the ideal members of an interdisciplinary pediatric feeding disorders team. I will also describe common behavior analytic assessments and empirically supported behavior analytic feeding treatments. I will conclude by walking attendees through several clinical cases from intake to the completion of the treatment evaluation.

Learning Objectives:
At the end of the workshop, attendees will be able to:

  • Describe what feeding disorders are and how they are conceptualized from a behavior analytic perspective
  • Describe the necessary members of an interdisciplinary team of professionals working on a pediatric feeding disorder team
  • Describe behavior analytic treatments for pediatric feeding disorders

  3:00 PM

  3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

3:30 PM - 5:00 PM

Being Recorded

Learning Objectives:
Participants will:
Read more
  • Reflect on and identify impacts of staff bias respective to their clients
  • Identify barriers to culturally responsive Applied Behavior Analytic Intervention
  • Identify and address systemic barriers to functionally appropriate behavior support plan implementation in a public school setting
  • Support staff with planning for and addressing their own reactions to values violations in behavior support plan implementation
  • Address and implement procedures to collaborate with other mental and behavioral health professions to build comprehensive behavior support plans
  • Review procedures, outcomes, and implementation plans for systemic barriers inhibiting effective implementation

Zachary Houston

 Offers 1.5 CEU Credits

3:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Being Recorded

Session description: How we understand inclusion is shifting. Rather than trying to include a few students who are different, we are striving to teach TO the difference. In this session we will look at how the goals of inclusion have evolved, as we learn more about diversity and identity. Session Outcomes: 

3:30 PM - 4:30 PM

LIVE only

Session description: This education panel re-envisions inclusive education from a variety of perspectives, including two autistic educators, Read more

an autism support teacher, an elementary level autistic self-advocate, and an autistic self-advocate who is a recent high school graduate. Join us as we share personal experiences and re-imagine the possibilities of truly inclusive school systems together.


All times shown below are in EDT (Eastern Daylight Time)

  10:00 AM - 11:00 AM

KEYNOTE SESSION: ADHD and Autism: How to Best Support our Youth (LIVE ONLY)

Session description: In this session, participants will learn the differences and overlapping characteristics between ADHD and Autism. Read more

Participants will also gain knowledge on interventions to apply in the school and home settings that can help children, teens, and young adults thrive.

  11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Being Recorded

Learning Objectives:
Read more
  1. Participants will identify the intersectionality between Autism and other factors which may impact service delivery (e.g., mental health, trauma, culture, inclusion, and resilience).
  2. Participants will identify the importance of individualized care strategies while incorporating self-assessment.
  3. Participants will identify several self-management and reflection strategies to increase their understanding of the intersectionality of service delivery.

Being Recorded

Session description: Drowning in the background of the youth mental health crisis are the forgotten caretakers - teachers and support specialists. Their noble pattern of self-sacrifice and serving the needs of others has now been compounded with escalating and sometimes unrealistic demands – and there is no definitive end in sight. “ Read more

Survive and advance” will not sustain educators for the lengthy challenge ahead. Furthermore, data demonstrates that the self care band aid has not been enough. Caregivers in schools need action items to improve their work flow, career satisfaction, and ability to form professional boundaries, while still meeting the needs of the school and their community. This session investigates several effective implementations in the world of healthcare that have improved working conditions for medical caretakers and translate extremely well to the field of education.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Review and understand the common vulnerabilities of caretakers that lead to exhaustion
  2. Investigate the impact of career burnout on perspective, mental health, and physical health
  3. Discuss and model the following evidence-based action items that school caregivers can and should consider implementing in their workplace:
    1. Aligning work with passion in an evidence-based fashion
    2. Triaging workflow to promote long term sustainability
    3. Engaging with community resilience in schools
    4. Differentiating between caring and caring with action
    5. Visual tools to assess time management at work and make decisions
  4. Consider and problem solve common barriers and/or anxieties that might deter use of these action items
  5. Discuss timelines and efficacy of work related upgrades that improve caregiving

Being Recorded

Session description: Applied Behaviour Analysis (ABA) professionals serve clients individualized needs, an integral part of individualizing client care is the practice of mindful cultural humility. Read more

Cultural humility cultivates the continuous need to seek, address, and adapt to diverse cultural realities of clients while upholding respect for diversity and inclusion within society. Unfortunately, equitable access to ABA interventions remains a global challenge. Further, cultural differences are not always addressed nor represented in many behavioral programs for the Autistic BIPoC community. The lack of equity fosters an imbalance of power that affects social validity regarding ABA services, but also progressively increases the marginalization and health disparities for the Autistic BIPoC community. How do professionals and organizations rectify this disparity? Join the discussion with Joy F. Johnson and Miin-An Hošić as they lead us into what cultural humility is and how to incorporate cultural humility in practice.  Audience participation is encouraged! 

  12:00 PM
  12:30 PM - 2:30 PM

12:30 PM - 2:30 PM

Being Recorded

Autism service professionals are the backbone of our system of care; championing their wellbeing is imperative to assuring autistic individuals achieve a high-quality life. Read more

PERMA is a model of wellbeing that has been utilized for many social service professions including educators, social workers and medical providers. The five building blocks of PERMA are positive emotions, engagement, relationship, meaning, and accomplishment. The research is clear, these five components are critical to human flourishing. The intentional application of the science and skills of PERMA can elevate the wellbeing of social service professionals and in-turn result in greater opportunity for effective intervention delivered by those professionals. This session will describe a current project implementing and assessing the application of PERMA Theory within the autism service system and encourage participants to integrate effective wellbeing practices into their lives.

Learning Objectives
  1. List the five building blocks of PERMA Theory
  2. Describe two practices that could enhance the wellbeing of autism service professionals
  3. Apply one wellbeing practice into your professional practice.

Patricia Wright, PhD, MPH, BCBA-D

 Offers 2 CEU Credits

1:30PM – 2:30PM

Being Recorded

Autism in Indigenous communities is a highly underserved and under researched area. Drawing from his own personal experiences as a father to autistic children and as a PhD in Medical Sciences student Read more

who is researching autism in his home community of Maskwacis, the speaker Grant Bruno, will weave together a story that includes both personal and academic evidence that will shed light on the realities of autism in Indigenous communities in Canada.

  2:30 PM
  3:00 PM - 5:00 PM

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Being Recorded

Session description: Schools are at a formidable crossroads, where a pervasive and prolonged mental health crisis now intersects with deep seated burnout in educators. Read more

This is a tenuous time – one that requires careful consideration and planning. As such, this presentation takes a deep dive into the assets and limitations of schools regarding their ability to provide mental health support, while at the same time, demonstrates to parents how they can sync with school efforts and provide an effective layer of preventative mental health at home. All the action items prepared for parents are data driven and do not require formal training in mental health care.

Learning Objectives:
  1. Investigate the current vulnerabilities and concerns associated with youth mental health.
  2. Explore the assets and limitations that shape the mental health response most schools can offer.
  3. Understand what protective and risk factors can be modified in a meaningful way by non-healthcare providers.
  4. Discuss and model the following evidence-based action items that parents can and should consider implementing at home
    1. Time with children: prioritizing quality over quantity
    2. Leverage acts of daily living (ADLs) for teachable moments in social emotional learning for your child
    3. Practice uncomfortable moments in comfortable settings
    4. Creating the endless conversation, where sharing thoughts becomes the norm
    5. Promote child voice and value through feedback and assessments

3:00 PM - 4:30 PM

Being Recorded

Session description: Disappointment, failure, and unwanted change are part and parcel of being human. We cannot avoid adversity.Read more

But how we respond to such events makes all the difference in our happiness, mental health, and wellbeing. Bouncing back is a skill that is critically important for all humans, and even more vital for those who live with autism.

Autism by its very nature imposes factors that impede the development of resilience. Differences in thinking, communication and significant anxiety are just a few barriers to the acquisition of resilience. But perhaps more damaging are the attitudes and actions of non autistic individuals that can sabotage the growth resilience of individuals with autism. As parents and educators, we hold an enormous amount of responsibility to do what we can to help youth with autism to grow their ‘resilience muscles’ over time so that they can navigate the non autistic world and be more confident in the face of adversity and change.

The bad news is that failing to do so leaves our kids massively vulnerable emotionally, physically and psychologically. Research has made it clear that children on the autism spectrum experience more adversity and more mental health challenges than their non-autistic peers. Without the deliberate development of the protective factors of resilience the price they pay even into adulthood is far too high: wasted potential and exponentially increasing degrees of debilitating anxiety and poor mental and physical health.

The great news is that we can make a massive difference by capitalizing on opportunities to explicitly teach our kids with autism how to build their resilience muscles. At the same time, we can remediate the ways that we may unintentionally be sabotaging the growth of resilience.

No doubt we want to raise and/or educate a child who will grow into a self -confident adult with autism who is comfortable in themselves, willing to take on new activities, and challenges, and live to the highest degree of autonomy and independence as possible. Genuine resilience is one of the most potent skills we can teach those we love.

OUTCOMES The learner will be able to:

  • Appreciate why resilience is of critical importance as protective skill to be developed in youth with autism.
  • Clarify what resilience is and what it is not.
  • Identify the factors that impede the development of resilience in individuals with autism.
  • Recognize and remediate the attitudes and actions of non autistic individuals that can sabotage the growth resilience of individuals with autism.
  • Implement specific strategies and model mindsets to teach resilience within natural life events both at home and at school.

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Being Recorded

Session description: Play is the foundation upon which social skills are built. Though typically developing children learn from an early age to interact socially through play, Read more

children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) demonstrate characteristic deficits in social interacti on and often do not engage in social play like their typically developing peers. When children with ASD engage in inappropriate, rigid, or isolated play, their peers often perceive them as odd or disrespectful. These perceptions lead to social isolation and stigmatization, and interfere with a child’s ability to build meaningful relationships with peers. Activity schedules (i.e., visual or auditory cues that serve as discriminative stimuli to engage in a sequence of activities) are one tool to enhance independent and social play behaviors. Therefore, the purpose of this presentation is to summarize three recent studies that have used activity schedules to improve independent and social play behaviors in children with ASD. Results and implications for research and practice will be discussed.

Learning objectives:

  • Participants will identify the benefits of teaching early-learner skills through play
  • Participants will identify behavioral interventions for teaching complex play, such as hide-and-seek
  • Participants will describe data-collection strategies for measuring outcomes of social-play interventions

Matthew Brodhead Ph.D., BCBA-D

Licensed Behavior Analyst (Michigan)

 Offers 1 Credit

4:00 PM - 5:00 PM

Being Recorded

Session description: Professional and ethical behaviors are critical for high quality care and consumer protection. By using behavioral systems, behavior analysts may increase the probability of employees engaging in professional and ethical behaviors. Read more

This presentation will survey the basic components of behavioral systems analysis (BSA) and how BSA may be used in practice to promote ethical behavior. Ultimately, this presentation aims to provide a pragmatic, solutions-oriented, and socially-valid approach to ethics that focuses on teaching employees “what to do” in certain situations, instead of using a punitive “how not to behave” approach for employee management.

Learning objectives:

  • Participants will identify the six steps of behavioral systems analysis.
  • Participants will describe an example of how to use behavioral systems analysis to improve ethical behavior during one on one supervision.
  • Participants will describe an example of how to use behavioral systems analysis to improve ethical behavior during group supervision.

Matthew Brodhead Ph.D., BCBA-D

Licensed Behavior Analyst (Michigan)

 Offers 1 (S) Credit


All times shown below are in EDT (Eastern Daylight Time)

  9:30am – 10:30am
  10:30 AM - 11:30 AM

LIVE only

Session Details

Abstract: A contemporary and trauma-assumed version of applied behavior analysis for consideration when working with autistic persons or those with intellectual disabilities, especially when problem behavior is probable, will be described. The values at the forefront of this compassionate ABA approach will be explained along with their implications for how to respond to both mild and severe forms of problem behavior. 

Objectives: 

  1. The attendee will be able to describe the three values that have implications for how to respond to mild and severe forms of problem behavior. 
  2. The attendee will be able to describe the most important knowledge for staff who provide direct support to children, adolescents, or adults with autism. 
  3. The attendee will be able to articulate how to respond to mild and severe forms of problem behavior were they to resurge during skill-based treatment. 
  11:30 AM
  12:00 PM - 2:00 PM

12:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Being Recorded

Learning Objectives:
At the end of this presentation, participants will be able to: Read more
  1. Summarize common co-occuring mental health conditions among autistics.
  2. Summarize the difficulties autistics typically face when trying to access mental health services
  3. Recognize possible signs that an autistic is facing a mental health crisis.
  4. Identify two approaches for improved mental health responses.
  5. Discover what a mental health crisis may feel like to an autistic.
  6. List a best practice model for autistics in crisis.

Research reports that autistics are at a higher risk for mental health challenges than people without autism. Yet, there is still a woefully inadequate understanding of how best to support autistics in crisis. Barriers to treatment, inadequate analysis of best support practices, and incomplete understanding of autism, contribute to the gap in knowledge. Autistics are joining the ranks of professionals to bridge this gap with their insight and experience. In this talk autistic author and educator Liane Holliday Willey will share her personal experiences with mental health challenges, current academic research, and thoughtful conclusions for effective autistic mental health supports.

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

LIVE only

Session Details

Abstract: A contemporary and trauma-assumed version of applied behavior analysis for consideration when working with autistic persons or those with intellectual disabilities, especially when problem behavior is probable. The values at the forefront of this compassionate ABA approach will be explained along with their implications for how to respond to both mild and severe forms of problem behavior. A brief review of the direct effects of the approach will be followed by program level evaluations of the secondary effects of the approach. A reliable and sensitive system for monitoring the behavioral health of persons with autism will be detailed.

Objectives: 

  1. The learner will be able to describe a behavioral health measurement system for evaluating individual and program-wide interventions for addressing severe problem behavior. 
  2. The learner will be able to interpret the effects of programmatic efforts using repeated applications of the Behavior Health Index. 

Gregory P. Hanley, Ph.D., BCBA-D

 Offers 1 CEU Credit

12:00 PM - 1:00 PM

Being recorded

Many studies have demonstrated the importance of parental involvement as an integral part of applied behavior analysis (ABA) interventions with children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). Read more

Practitioners often suggest that parental involvement may enhance child outcomes. The demonstration of compassionate care skills by behavior analysts may be integral to establishing successful parent-professional relationships in the delivery of interventions for ASD (Taylor et al., 2018). The Parent Partnership Questionnaire (PPQ) is an assessment tool that was developed to support parent-practitioner collaboration in clinical practice. The systematic development process involved multiple phases including collecting descriptive data from families, qualitatively analyzing those data, integrating the findings into an assessment tool (PPQ), soliciting feedback on the PPQ and testing the reliability of the PPQ. This study offers a resource to support clinicians’ work with families and potentially advance the integration of compassionate care into services provided by behavior analysts.

Learning objectives:

  1. Participants will be able to describe compassionate care skills.
  2. Participants will be able to describe how qualitative data may be integrated into behavior analytic research.
  3. Participants will be able to describe some of the key compassionate care professional characteristics that families value in applied practice.
  4. Participants will be able to describe how compassionate care skills can be integrated into practice when working with families.

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Being Recorded

Research has shown that people with autism can function independently Read More

at jobs that are suited to their strengths and abilities, as long as the specific tasks involved in the job are taught to mastery. This presentation will address 1) how to effectively assess prerequisite skills required for a job (e.g., job specific vs. job related skills), 2) how to prepare clients for a work placement (e.g., prevocational programming including; life, personal care, independent, and community skills), 3) how to engage the community for job opportunities (e.g., volunteer employment, job sampling, gainful employment, job carving), and 4) how to effectively integrate the client into the work setting (e.g., vocational programming, job shadowing). A review of the available literature in the area of employment, promoting independence, community integration and quality of life will be discussed. The talk will include presentation and discussion of data collected, video vignettes of program implementation, as well as other relevant visual supports.

Jen Hieminga, M.Ed, BCBA

 Offers 1 CEU Credit

1:00 PM - 2:00 PM

Being Recorded

In this session, participants will explore the application Read more

of Practical Functional Assessments and Skill Based Treatment across three service models at the Geneva Centre for Autism. This session will highlight lessons learned, problem-solving strategies and the impact of this service on the clients and families that were supported. The limitations and the future directions for this program will also be discussed and a client profile will be referenced throughout to enhance the understanding of the journey throughout the process.

Learning Objectives:

  1. Attendees will be able to identify how to collaborate with stakeholder to develop socially significant teaching objectives.
  2. Attendees will be able to identify approaches to problem solving within the SBT process.
  3. Attendees will be able to identify strategies for generalization within the SBT process.
  4. Attendees will be able to identify barriers, limitations, and considerations.

Jennifer Weber

 Offers 1 CEU Credit

  2:00 PM
  2:30 PM - 4:30 PM

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Being recorded

Session Details

Accommodations - to communication, tasks, and environment - are indispensable for inclusive classrooms where neurodivergent learners can truly thrive. This practical session will inspire parents and educators to consider the school day through an autism lens, bringing to life the classroom experiences of autistic students. It will suggest various adjustments which support reading and oral comprehension, written output, test anxiety, group work, and more. Through relatable anecdotes, student artwork, and thought-provoking examples, attendees will learn to communicate more clearly with neurodivergent learners, add tried-and-true strategies to all that they're already doing well, and understand the brain-based reasons underpinning effective accommodations.

Learning Goals:
  • Understand common classroom challenges faced by autistic students
  • Confidently implement neurodivergent-friendly environmental accommodations
  • Recognize and meet neurodivergent communication needs
  • Capitalize on autistic strengths when designing learning tasks and assessments

2:30 PM - 3:30 PM

Being Recorded

Session Details

The primary purpose of behavior analysis therapy for children with ASD is the effective delivery of evidence-based treatments. The principal agent for this endeavor is the behavior therapist or Registered Behavior Technician (RBT) who has only 40-hours of training and is then assigned a caseload of clients to serve each week. They are charged with implementing the behavior plan (BIP) prepared for them by their BCBA and taking data on client behavior, this data is intended to determine the effectiveness of treatment. Following BACB guidelines these most significant therapists are to be supervised a minimum of 5% of their hours only some of which must be direct observation. Unfortunately, there are gaps in this arrangement; quality control for the treatment is often lacking and responsibility for outcomes is not assigned to one party. A behavioral systems approach is proposed which would streamline the supervision process and create a clear path of responsibility for outcomes so that we can meet our obligations to the children in our charge.

LEARNING OBJECTIVES
  1. Participants will be able to describe the operational responsibilities of behavior therapists in training clients.
  2. Participants will be able to discuss the gaps in the current delivery system.
  3. Participants will be able to explain a behavioral system approach including the responsibilities of each of the parties.

Jon Bailey, PhD, BCBA-D

Professor Emeritus

 Offers 1 (E) Credit

2:30 PM - 4:30 PM

Being Recorded

Abstract:
On September 26, 2020, the autism and ABA world lost two powerful advocates: Feda and her autistic son Muhammed “Mu” Almaliti, tragically in a housefire. Read more

Feda, her sister, and her niece were able to evacuate the burning house. Unfortunately, Muhammed did not immediately exit their home and so Feda ran back inside. Unable to convince her son to leave, Feda remained inside the burning home with Mu. There is a popular saying in the autism community, “A child with autism becomes an adult with autism”, meaning we must plan and prepare for the entire lifespan. Feda spent nearly two decades prior to her death adamantly advocating for quality autism services, spearheading successful autism insurance reform in the state of California. She was a powerhouse and a force to be reckoned: in her life and in her death. From this tragedy, the September 26th project was created. The project aims to develop and disseminate information about safety protocols to be used in an emergency. To achieve this goal the National Council on Severe Autism has created a comprehensive resource in the form of three simple, quick, easy-to-use safety-related checklists, checklists that may prevent similar tragedies. This presentation will review the life and death of a fierce advocate, as well as the tools and checklists created as a result of our loss. The presentation will also serve as a call to action for providers to join the discussion and to practice conceptualizing meaningful treatment targets, which relate to surviving safety and crisis situations for of our clients –and their caregivers.

Learning Objectives
  • LO1: Attendees will list two contributions of Feda, related to autism advocacy.
  • LO2: Attendees will name two barriers families face to access quality care.
  • LO3: Attendees will develop at least two meaningful treatment objectives related to teaching safety and responding in crisis situations

Dr. Amanda Kelly

 Offers 2 CEU Credits

3:30 PM – 4:30 PM

Being Recorded

Noor Syed

Offers 1 (E) CEU Credit

3:30pm – 4:30pm

Being Recorded

Abstract:
Autistic adults have multiple, chronic, and potentially preventable healthcare needs as compared to same-aged adults without ASD. Read more

Much of what is known about the health and healthcare needs of autistic adults has emerged from health services research without knowing the specific priorities of autistic people for addressing barriers to care (e.g. Croen et al., 2015; Zerbo et al., 2018; Schott et al., 2020). Approximately 2% of U.S. research funding in autism is spent in addressing adult outcomes (IACC, n.d.). As a result, participatory research was undertaken to determine health care priorities for autistic individuals. Results of this study as well as strategies used for engendering authentic engagement of autistic individuals in research shall be discussed.