This is Bill's honest and direct account of what it's like to be a father bringing up a child with autism. He discusses the pressures and pleasures this brings to their family. He is eager and willing to offer his advice and inspiration for other parents battling for their exceptional child's well-being.

"How to Get Your Kids to Eat: Practical Strategies for Addressing Food Aversions and Eating challenges"

Researchers estimate that 75% of children with developmental delays and 45% of typically developing children experience eating challenges throughout their development. This session will review the physiological, sensory, and behavioral reasons for food selectivity and provide a comprehensive treatment program for increasing food selections and answering eating challenges at home and in school. Participants will review a comprehensive treatment plan and the stages for sensory development when learning to eat new foods. This session will also include demonstrations, videos, case studies, and hands-on techniques for addressing eating challenges. The practical strategies provided in this workshop are geared towards a variety of settings, including home and school.

"The Next Generation: Social Stories, PowerPolnt, Movies and More!"

Parents and professionals have used Social Stories™ for many years to effectively share social information with children, adolescents, and adults with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and other social-communication delays and differences. Using lecture, discussion, and case examples this presentation 1) briefly defines Social Stories™ and the rationale and research supporting their use; 2) describes new formats that add meaning to Social Stories™; and explores the potential of the very new Story Movies™. This is a fun, fast-paced, upbeat presentation that introduces participants to the latest Social Story™ research, theories and innovations!

"Examining Five Promises Approaches for Autism Spectrum Disorders"

Noting that there has been no true comparison between educational / behavioral / developmental approaches for working with children on the autism spectrum, qualitative research was initiated to investigate the following about Applied Behavioral Analysis, TEACCH, Daily Life Therapy, Miller Method, and DIR. Through written correspondence and face to face interviews, the developers of these varied approaches were queried on how they define autism, think about children with autism, and would handle carefully designed case studies representing the spectrum of autism.

Some preliminary findings suggest that current definitions of autism are lacking and a more multi-dimensional approach is needed, some techniques are applicable across approaches, and a general sense that people with autism have something valuable to contribute to the community as a whole.

"Connecting the Research ‘Dots’ to Create Intervention ‘Snapshots’
for Children and Adolescents with ASD"

This presentation will address the latest research findings into brain function, in general, and communication and language issues, in particular. It will do so in a user-friendly style that cuts through the minutia and gets to the bottom line - the implications for what to do in the classroom, home, or clinical setting. Many examples from the presenter’s clinical experience will be given to ensure understanding, and a series of intervention “snapshots” that directly flow from specific research findings will be interwoven throughout the workshop. This presentation will end with a list of ten principles of need-based communication and language intervention, along with their accompanying practical “take home” messages.

This course is for pre-school through high school, all functioning levels.

"Early Diagnosis and Core Features of ASD in Young Children"

This session will focus on clinical best practices surrounding early diagnosis of ASD. The core social and communicative features of ASD will be discussed in detail as well as current and emerging methodologies for identifying these features in a variety of clinical settings.

"Special Education Law: Problems and Opportunities"

This session will provide an overview of special education law, with special emphasis on aspects of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and implementing state and federal regulations of particular significance for children with autism and their families, including required scope of evaluations, elements of a Free Appropriate Public Education (FAPE), rules governing extended school year services, unilateral placements, and similar topics.

"The Medical Home - A Scientific Overview"

In 1992, the American Academy of Pediatrics published a landmark paper introducing the concept of the Medical Home. Over the following 16 years, this concept has proven to be at the same time a return to basic principles of good medical care and a bold proposition that each child deserves a medical caregiver who really knows them and can deliver comprehensive care.

From 1994-1999, Dr. Arthur Lavin was an initial member of the Academy's Medical Home Program for Children with Special Needs Project Advisory Committee and helped create the application of the concept of the Medical Home to the needs of children with complex health care needs, including a national publication to help teach American pediatricians how to offer a Medical Home to children with complex health care needs.

In this session, Dr. Lavin reviews the concept of the Medical Home, how it came to be applied to children with special needs, and the scientific proof of impact of this exciting, effective, and challenging model of care. Time will be made available for a lively discussion of just what sort of care families would like their medical system to deliver.

"Special Needs Planning"

This session will address the benefit and estate planning strategies that are appropriate for families with a child with autism. The presentation will start with a brief overview of government benefits, including SSI, SSA, SSDI, Medicare and Medicaid. We will discuss what a trust is and how it works—including how to select and oversee trustees. Finally, we will briefly explore guardianship and how to balance parents’ long-term care needs when planning for their son or daughter.

"Expressive Language Assessment and Intervention for Children with Echolalia"

This presentation will provide research results comparing the spontaneous and echolalic language of 5 children with autism. Results indicate that language sampling technique can be a useful assessment tool for determining nature and severity of echolalia. Guidelines for clinical application of language sampling in assessment and intervention strategies will be discussed.

Learner Outcomes:
1. Learners will compare spontaneous and echolalic language of children with
   autism according to complexity and frequency or production types
2. Learners will list 4 steps to using language sampling to assess echolalia
3. Learners will identify 3 ways in which language sampling can be used clinically.
4. Learners will identify 3 strategies for increasing spontaneous language in children with autism.

"The Miracle Project: Using Creativity and
Joy To Bring Out the Best in Children with Autism"

This workshop is presented by Elaine Hall, featured as “Coach E” in the HBO award-winning documentary, Autism: The Musical.

This workshop will include:
- 7 Steps to Joining A Child’s World
- Developing Creativity, Spontaneity and Joy
- Being “Miracle Minded”
- Inclusion: Peer Role Models, Siblings, Family, Community
- Celebrating Differences

Watch a young filmmaker’s journey as Taylor escorts you through the conception of his film, the day-to-day challenges of making it in the shadow of autism, and its eventual release.

At one point a professor asked Taylor, "How do we provide social skills to an individual without invading their space?" Taylor said "Your books will tell you a lot about the disorder and the process steps to intervene, but unless you get to know the person you are trying to work with - and not just about the disability - you will always invade their space. Put away your books and learn about who the person is."