Join us for the third annual ECHO Autism Communities Symposium on April 20, 2023.
Together, autism experts and advocates can expect to learn about topics designed to enhance services, access, care, and advocacy within the autism community.
Join us virtually April 20, 2023 for a day of learning and empowerment as we hear from some of the most influential autism experts and advocates around the world. Some topics we’ll discuss include serving low-income and underserved communities, heterogeneity in Autism, an autism spectrum panel discussion, planning for the future with autism, adult diagnosis, community partnering, and more!
Spend a little bit of time getting to know our speakers below.
Kate Movius is the founder of Autism Interaction Solutions, whose mission is to provide effective training in autism identification, safety and communication tactics for first responders. Kate’s work has been profiled by CBS, ABC, FOX and the LA Times. She is a frequent spokesperson about special needs issues and has been a contributing writer for The LA Times, Los Angeles Magazine and Pasadena Magazine. Kate serves on the Bringing Our Loved Ones Home Task Force, working with the Los Angeles Board of Supervisors to establish a strategic plan to minimize the risks of wandering for people with Alzheimer’s and autism. She is also a member of the Autism Society of America Safety Task Force. Kate is the proud mom of two sons, one of whom has autism.
She’ll be joined by her peers Stephen Shore, Ed.D, Crystalena Oberweiser Ph.D., Patrina Dixon, CESP, and Andrew Arboe for their panel “Listen to the Spectrum: See Possibilities in All Abilities.”
Michelle conducts research, demonstrations and implementation of evidence-based practices that enhance person-and family-centered organizational, policy and systems change at UMKC. She is co-principal investigator of the National Community of Practice on Supports to Families in collaboration with National Association on State Developmental Disability Directors. She is lead developer of the Charting the Life Course framework and tools now informing multi-level policy and practice change in 21 states. She helped develop the National Agenda for Supporting Families with a Member with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities and as a facilitator of the AUCD Family Special Interest Group. She is the Director of the HRSA Family-to-Family Health Information Center for Missouri and Missouri’s Parent-to-Parent program, housed within the Missouri Developmental Disability Resource Center. For eight years, she provided support to national and local self-advocate organizations. Since 2014, she has served on the President’s council for People with Intellectual Disabilities. She has earned a Masters in Occupational Therapy from Rockhurst University and a doctorate in Public Administration and Sociology from the University of Missouri, Kansas City with a focus on family support research. Dr. Reynolds’ passion, knowledge, and experience comes from growing up as a sibling of a brother with developmental disabilities. Join Michelle for her presentation entitled, “Charting Your LifeCourse: Planning for Now and the Future”.
The Charting the LifeCourse Framework was created “by families, for families” to help individuals and families of all abilities and all ages develop a vision for a good life, think about what they need to know and do, identify how to find, or develop supports, and discover what it takes to live the lives they want to live. Learn how these tools are being used by and with individuals and families to focus on their current situation and stage of life and to look forward to the future. This human-centric framework is being used around the country to support persons with and without disabilities, as well as being used for organizational and systems change.
Brian Boyd is the William C. Friday Distinguished Professor in Education in the School of Education at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. He was previously the Director of the Juniper Gardens Children’s Project at the University of Kansas. Dr. Boyd is quite engaged in research that involves the most vulnerable, and often marginalized, populations. As a special educator by training, much of his research has involved the development and evaluation of evidence-based practices that could be implemented within school and home contexts. His more recent work has focused on how issues of implicit bias and race affect the outcomes of children with and without disabilities. Dr. Boyd’s research has been continuously funded by federal agencies such as the Institute of Education Sciences and National Institutes of Health. Currently, he serves as Vice President of the International Society for Autism Research and Co-Editor of the Journal of Early Intervention. He also serves on multiple national boards that are dedicated to improving the outcomes of autistic persons and those from historically underserved communities.
Brian’s topic is “Partnering with Communities: What Works, and What Doesn’t”. Community-partnered participatory research methods are being used to increase the diversity and representation of marginalized groups in autism research. These research methods strive to give “voice” to the voiceless and ensure decision-making and power are shared throughout the research process. This presentation will provide (1) a rationale for the use of community-partnered participatory research methods, (2) an overview of strategies and principles to promote and sustain community partnerships, and (3) ideas for improving the racial and ethnic diversity of community members engaged in autism research.
These are just some of the amazing speakers you can look forward to at the 2023 ECHO Autism Communities Virtual Symposium!
Don’t miss out. Register now and get ready for a day of important conversations and education.
This event is completely virtual and no cost, so everyone is welcome to attend. Whether you’re a professional, an advocate, or just interested in learning more, we want to see you there. Register for the event today by clicking here.
