Autreat 2006

Presentations

Making Life Easier with Visual and Auditory Aids

Susan Golubock, M.Ed., OTR/L

For those autistics, or friends/family members of autistic individuals, who struggle with planning, organization or memory skills that make getting through daily living tasks difficult, this presentation will provide suggestions for low tech/low cost visual and auditory assistive devices that can make these tasks easier and faster. Each participant will have the opportunity to obtain the materials they need to
create one visual or auditory aid that they decide might meet their own need or that of an autistic individual with whom they live or work.

LeisureLand - A working Autistic Intentional Community in Oregon

TR Kelley and Randy Hamme - members of LeisureLand Community

TR Kelley (AC) and Randy Hamme (NT) present a talk and slideshow about
their Autism-focused "intentional family" living in rural western Oregon. The LeisureLand Community has 7 residents, 5 who are AC. Issues of sensory intrusion, chores, responsibilities, shared finances and food, personal property, transportation and employment will be viewed through a lens of autism and voluntary simplicity. By removing ourselves from artificial demands the indistinguishable-from-his-peers consumer lifestyle, we have gained freedom and time to be who we are. By banding together, we lower our individual costs and raise our level of safety and efficiency in running a household. By honoring autism and allowing it to flower, we reinforce pride and self-worth as well as continued learning about who we are and what living arrangements suit us best.

Educating and Empowering Non-Autistic Allies: Next Steps

Phil Schwarz, Vice-president, Asperger's Association of New England

In my past speaking and writing, I have articulated the benefits that a well-educated and empowered population of non-autistic allies can bring to the autistic self-advocacy movement. The most successful model for the development of such an ally network is the population of straight allies of the gay community.

In this workshop, we will hear from representatives of organizations that do extensive outreach and support of straight allies, about how they do their work, and discuss how to replicate those specifics in the development of a network of non-autistic allies of the autistic community.

Augmentative and Alternative Communication: Other Ways to Communicate

a panel of educators from Speaking For Ourselves, www.speaking.org

Making connections: How and why

Sola Shelly

I call a "connection" a voluntary, non-utilitarian relationship. Connections can engage other humans, animals, plants or even inanimate objects. Using examples from AC writings, I will illustrate how the nature of connections that a person develops expresses his or her identity. Some implications on treatment methods for autistic children and adults will be described.

Autism and Counseling: A User's Guide

Jim Sinclair

If you're considering getting counseling, or if you're in counseling and would like to be getting more out of it, this session will help you to understand how to make counseling work for you. It will include information on different types of counseling, choosing a counselor, setting goals for counseling, communicating effectively with your counselor, and what to expect during counseling. It will also address frequent difficulties autistic people have with counseling, why those difficulties occur, and offer some counseling self-advocacy skills for managing them.

Into the Enemy's Camp - Examination of Prejudice

Joel Smith

Autistics face murder, abuse, and discrimination as a result of prejudices held by society. In this workshop, common prejudices will be examined and analyzed, and some means of dealing with these prejudices will be discussed. The societal context and motivations behind these prejudices will be considered, to allow attendees to better address these prejudices when they impact their own or someone else's lives.

For Autistic Family Members:
How to Deal With and Respond to Neurotypical Behavior and Neurotypical Expectations

Zosia Zaks

In this workshop designed specifically for Autistics who regularly relate
closely to neurotypicals and who may experience frustration, anger, or the
reverse a sense of partnership with these important and intimate neurotypical relations, Autistics will have a safe place to explore feelings, understandings, and reactions to the neurotypical behavior and expectations of non-Autistic parents, brothers, sisters, partners, spouses, and children. Without judging or debasing the concerns and social patterns of neurotypicals, this workshop sincerely aims to provide Autistics a chance to reduce miscommunication, enhance cooperation, and promote mutual understanding by investigating neurotypical behavior and
then promoting positive responses to it.

Making Conferences and Organizations More Accessible for People with Complex Handicaps

Susan Goodman, JD, Governmental Affairs Director, National Down Syndrome Congress

In this session, Susan Goodman will give us some history and background on how the National Down Syndrome Congress and the Autism National Committee have struggled with and attempted to address the issues involved in making their events and organizational governance more accessible and meaningful to their members who have complex needs and profound handicaps. From that history and the issues identified in it, we will move on to discuss how we can apply the lessons learned from it to improving accessibility and meaningfulness of Autreat and other aspects of participation in ANI.

"Ask an NT" Panel

Jim Sinclair

Mainstream autism conferences often have panels of autistic people to answer questions about the experience of autism. This is our chance to ask a panel of neurotypical people all those things we've wondered about NTs and why they do the things they do.

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