ECHO Autism Communities Symposium 2024
ECHO Autism Communities Symposium 2024
“The ECHO Autism Communities Symposium unites professionals and advocates globally around key concepts to ignite important conversations and take action together. Learn from leading experts as we engage in empowering ourselves and each other through knowledge, practice, and advocacy.”
– Dr. Kristin Sohl
“The ECHO Autism Communities Symposium unites professionals and advocates globally around key concepts to ignite important conversations and take action together. Learn from leading experts as we engage in empowering ourselves and each other through knowledge, practice, and advocacy.”
– Dr. Kristin Sohl
At this free symposium event, experts and participants learn together about specific topics to enhance services, access, care, and advocacy within the autism community.
At this symposium event, experts and participants learn together about specific topics to enhance services, access, care, and advocacy within the autism community.
April 11, 2024
ECHO Autism Communities Symposium Speakers
Kristin Sohl, MD, FAAP is a Professor of Clinical Child Health at the University of Missouri, Founder and Executive Director of ECHO Autism, Medical Director for MU Missouri Telehealth Network, and the MU Office of Continuing Medical Education. She is a pediatrician with extensive experience in medical diagnosis, evaluation, and longitudinal support of people with a concern of autism and other developmental/behavioral disorders. Dr. Sohl is regarded as an expert in quality and process improvement particularly for comprehensive autism diagnostic and longitudinal services. She founded ECHO Autism, an innovative framework to increase community capacity to care for people with autism. It is viewed as a national model in expanding equitable access to best practice screening, evaluation, diagnosis, and longitudinal support for autistic people particularly in underserved and rural populations. The ECHO Autism team has established partnerships with other children’s hospitals and autism centers in more than 40 locations in the United States and 30 international locations.
Dr. Sohl is a tireless advocate for children and enjoys engaging other physicians in being a voice for children’s health particularly related to changing systems to improve access to equitable care in rural and underserved locations. She is the President of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Missouri Chapter. She is the chair of the American Academy of Pediatrics, Autism Subcommittee within the Council on Children with Disabilities. She completed medical school and pediatric residency at the University of Missouri.
Morénike Giwa Onaiwu, PhD, MA (she/they) is a global advocate, educator, disabled person of color, non-binary woman, and parent in a neurodiverse, multicultural, twice-exceptional serodifferent biological and adoptive family. A prolific writer and social scientist/activist whose
work focuses on intersectional justice, meaningful community involvement, human rights, and inclusion, Morénike is recognized as a leader in various disability justice endeavors, including serving as founder/principal consultant of Advocacy Without Borders, a grassroots intersectional non-profit initiative offering DEIA, education, advocacy, keynotes/lectures, training, research, expert review, and related projects.
Morénike co-chairs the Equity, Justice, and Representation Advisory Committee of the Autistic Women & Nonbinary Network (AWN) and is also a member of several executive boards, a collaborator with various like-minded organizations, and a highly sought after public speaker, trainer, and consultant who has presented at the White House, the United Nations, and numerous peer-reviewed international conferences. Notable publications of Morénike’s include various chapter contributions and peer-reviewed articles as well as co-editing AWN’s groundbreaking anthologies Sincerely, Your Autistic Child: What People on the Autism Spectrum Wish Their Parents Knew About Growing Up, Acceptance, and Identity and the initial edition of All the Weight of Our Dreams: On Living Racialized Autism. Morénike, who has also been featured in the NY Times, NBC’s Today Show, the BBC, NPR, and other media outlets, is the author of the forthcoming Open Access monograph A Neurodiversity and Gentle Parenting Journey…in Color.
Dr. Catherine Lord, PhD is the George Tarjan Distinguished Professor of Psychiatry in the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. She is a practicing clinical psychologist whose primary focus is autism and related disorders across the lifespan from toddlers through adulthood. Her research and clinical work are aimed at improving methods of identifying strengths and difficulties in individuals with possible ASD and working with families and individuals to maximize independence and well-being for all concerned. This has involved the development of diagnostic instruments (the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule – ADOS, the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised – ADI-R, and the Social Communication Questionnaire-SCQ) that describe individual profiles of skills and weaknesses and carrying out longitudinal studies from age 15 months up to 30 years with the goal of identifying protective and risk factors that influence milestones of progress over the years. A current priority is to develop better ways of measuring changes in social behavior and communication over short periods of time that can be used to monitor progress without bias. Another priority has been to participate in large scale studies where researchers share data about both behavior and neurobiology; this has included the Simons Simplex Collection (a genetics consortium led by geneticists and researchers through the Simons Foundation), ABIDE (an imaging open science group originated out of NYU), and the Healthy Brain Network through the Child Mind Institute as well as numerous clinical trials of different interventions. She is also very interested in graduate training for psychologists and other clinical researchers in ASD and related fields. She is a member of the National Academy of Medicine and a fellow of the American Association of Arts and Sciences, as well as a former chair of a National Academy of Sciences committee on the effectiveness of early intervention in ASD, a co-chair of the New York Board of Health committee on ASD and a member of the DSM 5 American Psychiatry Association’s neurodevelopmental disorders committee. She is the recipient of numerous awards including the Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Autism Research. She has over 300 referred journal publications and has been funded by NIH, Autism Speaks, and the Simons Foundation for numerous research grants.
Dr. Somer Bishop, PhD is a Professor of Psychology in Psychiatry at UCSF. She is a clinical psychologist with expertise in assessment, diagnosis, and treatment of individuals with autism spectrum disorders. Her research and clinical interests are focused on ASD symptom manifestations in individuals of different ages and levels of ability, as well as on differentiating between ASD and other developmental disabilities across the lifespan.
Dr. Nanclares-Nogués is a licensed clinical psychologist specialized in neurodevelopmental conditions, with a strong emphasis on diagnosis and intervention of autism spectrum disorders.
For over 25 years she has been working with children and families in a variety of settings, from research to clinical practice. She is originally from Argentina but has resided in the US since 1998. For 20 years, she developed and directed the Autism Treatment Program at Advocate Children’s Hospital in Chicago, IL. She translated into Spanish the gold-standard instruments for the diagnosis of autism: The Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised and the Autism Diagnostic Observation schedule. She provides trainings throughout the US and Latin America, helping professionals and organizations create greater access to services and improve care for people
with ASD and their families. In 2018, she joined the ECHO Autism Communities leadership team and participates in several of the ECHO Autism programs as content expert. She is the Director of Program Development and Global Expansion for ECHO Autism Communities, helping to replicate ECHO Autism model in Latin America and around the world.
Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, MD is a developmental pediatrician at the Glenrose Rehabilitation Hospital, where he directs the Autism Research Centre. He completed his clinical training in Toronto and research training at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario where he worked prior to moving to Edmonton in 2006. He is currently a Professor in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Alberta and is supported by the Stollery Children’s Hospital Foundation Chair in Autism. He is the medical lead for the Neurodevelopmental Assessment and Consultation Service at the Glenrose and the Edmonton Zone Clinical Department Head for Child Health, Alberta Health Services. His current research focuses on improving early detection and timely diagnosis and health care related to autism. He has been recognized for research leadership and career achievement by fellowships from the Canadian Academy of Health Sciences and the International Society for Autism Research.
Rena Sorensen, PhD is a clinical psychologist who specializes in the assessment and treatment of children with neurodevelopmental disorders and severe problem behavior. She joined Cincinnati Children’s in 2000 and has focused on providing intensive intervention services across multiple settings. She has developed home-based ABA, community consultation to schools and agencies, an intensive severe behavior treatment day-program, inpatient psychiatric stabilization for acute crisis management, and is currently the co-director of the Behavior Safety Team who serves patients admitted for medical care who have pre-existing behavioral challenges or who struggle to tolerate their care for any reason. She received the Richard M. Smith MD Leadership in Patient Safety Award from the Health Care Collaborative (2015), the Envisionary Award for Outstanding Leadership in Developmental Disabilities (2016), the Exemplary Therapist Award from the National Alliance on Mental Illness (2019), and the Behavior Safety Team won CHMC’s Compassionate Caregiver Award in 2021
Stephen Shore, Ed.D diagnosed with “Atypical Development and strong autistic tendencies” and “too sick” for outpatient treatment Dr. Shore was recommended for institutionalization. Nonspeaking until 4, and with much support from his parents, teachers, wife, and others, Stephen is now a full time professor at Adelphi University and adjunct at NYU Steinhardt School of Culture, Education, and Human Development, focusing on aligning best practice in supporting autistic people to lead fulfilling and productive lives.
In addition to working with children and talking about life on the autism spectrum, Stephen is an internationally renowned educator, consultant and author on lifespan issues pertinent to education, relationships, employment, and self-advocacy. His most recent book College for Students with Disabilities combines personal stories and research for promoting success in higher education.
A current board member of Autism Speaks, the Organization for Autism Research (OAR), American Occupational Therapy Foundation (AOTF), president emeritus of the Asperger/Autism Network, and advisory board member of the Autism Society, Dr. Shore also serves on the advisory boards of AANE, and other autism related organizations.
Dr. Maya Moody is a neurodiversity-affirming pediatrician in St. Louis, Missouri and a parent of a neurodiverse 11-year-old. Through her personal and professional experience, she has taken a deep dive into the neurodiversity movement and is a proud partner and advocate for neurodiverse individuals.
Kris Guin is an LGBTQ and disability justice advocate. He has founded Queerability and has worked with organizations like the Autistic Self Advocacy Network, GLSEN, and the National LGBTQ Task Force. He currently works at the American Psychological Association in their Journals department. When not working or advocating for LGBTQ and disability justice, Kris enjoys music of all genres, going to concerts, and playing musical instruments.
Nicole lives in Kansas City, Missouri and she works at Eitas, the Jackson County Developmental Disabilities Services as a Peer Resource Specialist and as an Election Judge in Clay County. She is a member of People First and her advocacy focus is on voting rights and alternatives to guardianship. She enjoys spending time with her family, including her Pit Bull named Pebble. Her hobbies include knitting, quilting, and art and she is involved in Special Olympics Missouri, and she competes in Unified Sports with her mom.
Arielle Speer, LICSW is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker in the State of Missouri and holds clinical licensure in the states of Massachusetts, Arkansas, and South Dakota. Arielle has a background in direct care support for autistic persons and identified her own experiences of autism while raising her autistic, adult son. Arielle became passionate about gaining her higher education to increase her ability to advocate with mental health professionals to support her son. Arielle has completed academic research to increase insight into students with disabilities and the reluctance to access disability services. Arielle recognizes the best way she can advocate for her son and herself is to be visible as an autistic person with disabilities: to challenge stigma and represent what being autistic, dyslexic, ADHD, OCD and having dyscalculia can look like. Arielle currently works as a clinician for Prosper Health offering neurodivergent affirming therapy for adults.
Jamie Scaccia, PsyD, is a clinical psychologist with a specialization in developmental trauma. She is the Director of Assessment at FamilyForward, an organization that leads those impacted by trauma in the direction of hope. In this role, she manages a team of evaluating professionals along with a small caseload of clients. She also sits on the HUB team for the Foster Care ECHO of Missouri, enjoys presenting at conferences, and is the Training Director of the pre- and post-doctoral psychology internship and resident programs at FamilyForward. Dr. Scaccia has utilized the frameworks of the Neurosequential Model of Therapeutics along with the Therapeutic Assessment model to enhance psychological evaluations to be more trauma informed and client centered, including clients’ experience and role of differential diagnosis. She continues to explore the complex nature of overlapping diagnoses, especially that of autism spectrum disorder and complex trauma.
April 11th, 2024
Schedule & Topics
On-Demand Topics & Videos
8:00 - 8:15 am CT
Kristin Sohl, MD
Welcome & Opening Remarks
8:15 - 9:15 am CT
Morénike Giwa Onaiwu, PhD
Morénike Giwa Onaiwu, PhD, MA, co-editor of the book, “Sincerely Your Autistic Child”, will amplify the perspectives of autistic people and provide conceptual and practical information to help people avoid common mistakes and misconceptions, so autistic people feel truly accepted, valued, and celebrated for who they are.
9:15 -10:15 am CT
Catherine Lord, PhD
Somer Bishop, PhD
Valeria Nanclares, PsyD
Lonnie Zwaigenbaum, MD
In the last couple of decades, the autism prevalence rates have increased steadily; however, the number of trained professionals to be able to provide assessments has not kept pace with this demand. Today, there are significant inequities globally that impact access to appropriate evaluation processes: 1) scarcity of trained clinicians; 2) difficulties within healthcare systems that impact a clinician’s ability to provide flexible diagnostic
assessments (mandating or requiring specific instruments/tools); 3) lack of culturally sensitive and language-
appropriate measures; and 4) lack of resources available to clinicians, to name a few of the challenges. These inequities and barriers are only exacerbated in low- and middle-income countries (LMIC) or in remote or rural
areas in higher income countries. Therefore, efforts need to be placed on ensuring training of clinicians able to
apply best practice procedures for assessment, training on appropriate use of instruments available to aid in the clinical diagnosis and improving the systems of care to support clinicians in developing and exercising their clinical expertise beyond any one specific tool. This panel will discuss some of the barriers faced in equitable
access to autism evaluations across the globe, the pros, and cons of standardized instruments within diagnostic contexts, and adaptations developed during COVID-19 and their potential application beyond the pandemic.
10:15 - 10:30 am CT
Break
10:30 - 11:30 am CT
Maya Moody, DO
The term “neurodiversity,” describes variations in thinking, feeling, and behaving. Thought, feeling, and behavior patterns that fall within the range of what is considered normal are called neurotypical; those that differ are labeled neurodivergent. Understanding neurodiversity and how that can improve interactions with the neurodiversity community will be discussed.
11:30 am - 12:30 pm CT
Rena Sorensen, PhD
Behavior can be a form of communication. Some behaviors communicate a need or desire to access something, and others communicate wanting to escape or avoid something. Once you start to figure out what behaviors are communicating, you can plan for what to do next. This session will focus on how professionals can work with families, caregivers, and autistic people to better understand what behaviors are communicating.
12:30 - 12:45 pm CT
Break
12:45 - 2:00 pm CT
Stephen Shore, EdD
Arielle Speer, LICSW
Kris Guin
Nicole Noblet
Gain insight and greater understanding by listening to a panel of autistic adults who will share their perspectives and what it really means to listen to, support and authentically engage autistic people.
2:00 - 3:00 pm CT
Jamie Scaccia, PsyD
Autistic people may be more likely to experience traumatic life events and trauma may express itself
differently in people on the spectrum. However, the overlap between autism spectrum disorder and complex trauma is significant, making it difficult to identify, resolve, and treat. It is important to understand the influence of trauma on behavior, how to recognize trauma in autistic people and how trauma may over or under shadow diagnosis.
3:00 - 3:15 pm CT
Kristin Sohl, MD
Closing Remarks
Continuing Education
Successful Completion
Successful completion of this activity, which includes being paid in full, participating in the educational offering, participating in the evaluation process, and completing the verification of attendance, enables the learner to satisfy the requirements for continuing education.
Continuing Medical Education (CME)
The University of Missouri – Columbia School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The University of Missouri – Columba School of Medicine, University of Missouri designates this live educational activity for a maximum of 6.25 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
American Board of Pediatrics (ABP)
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the learner to earn up to 6.25 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit learner completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABP MOC credit.
American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM)
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 6.25 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of recognizing participation.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
The Missouri Speech-Language-Hearing Association is approved by the Continuing Education Board of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) to provide continuing education activities in speech-language pathology and audiology. This activity has been approved at the Intermediate Level for 0.6 ASHA CEUs.
LPC, Social Work, Psychology, 50-minute hour CEs
The University of Missouri Continuing Education for Health Professions (CEHP) is part of an accredited university in the state of Missouri. As such, this program meets the requirements for Licensed Professional Counselors, Psychologists, and Social Workers with Missouri licenses. CEHP attests that this program contains 6.25 clock hours of instructional time. Licensed professionals measuring CE credit based on a 50-minute hour may claim up to 7.5 Contact Hours for full attendance at this program.
Relevant Financial Relationship Disclosure
Current ACCME (Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education) and Midwest Multistate Division, ANCC (American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation) rules state that participants in CE activities should be made aware of any relevant affiliation or financial interest in the previous 24 months that may affect the planning of an educational activity or a speaker’s presentation(s). Each planning committee member and speaker has been requested to complete a financial relationship reporting form for the ECHO Autism Communities Symposium.
Kristin Sohl, MD receives research support from Cogna Behavior Health and is a medical science collaborator for Quadrant Biosciences.
Somer Bishop, PhD receives royalties from Western Psychological Services (WPS) for the sales of the ADOS-Protocol
Kris Guin is an investor with Becton Dickinson.
Catherine Lord receives royalties from Western Psychological Services (WPS) for the sales of diagnostic instruments.
All other relevant financial relationships have been mitigated.
No other speaker or planning committee member has a relevant financial interest.
Continuing Medical Education
The University of Missouri – Columbia School of Medicine is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME) to provide continuing medical education for physicians.
The University of Missouri – Columbia School of Medicine, designates this live educational activity for a maximum of 7.0 AMA PRA Category 1 Credit(s)™. Physicians should only claim the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
American Board of Internal Medicine (ABIM)
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the participant to earn up to 7.0 Medical Knowledge MOC points in the American Board of Internal Medicine’s (ABIM) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit participant completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABIM MOC credit.
American Board of Pediatrics (ABP)
Successful completion of this CME activity, which includes participation in the evaluation component, enables the learner to earn up to 7.0 MOC points in the American Board of Pediatrics’ (ABP) Maintenance of Certification (MOC) program. It is the CME activity provider’s responsibility to submit learner completion information to ACCME for the purpose of granting ABP MOC credit.”
LPC, Social Work, Psychology, 50-minute hour CEs
The University of Missouri Continuing Education for Health Professions (CEHP) is part of an accredited university in the state of Missouri. As such, this program meets the requirements for Licensed Professional Counselors, Psychologists, and Social Workers with Missouri licenses. CEHP attests that this program contains 7.0 clock hours of instructional time. Licensed professionals measuring CE credit based on a 50 minute hour may claim up to 8.4 Contact Hours for full attendance at this program. Professionals from outside of Missouri may wish to check with their Boards regarding applying these credits to their licenses.
Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc. (BACB)
The University of Missouri Continuing Education for Health Professions has been approved by the Behavior Analyst Certification Board, Inc. (BACB) as an ACE provider of continuing education events. BACB ACE Provider # OP-22-0400
1 BACB CEU is being offered for the presentation titled “The September 26th Project” by Kelly Bermingham, MA, BCBA. No other presentations qualify for BACB Continuing Education Credit.
ASHA: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
ASHA: American Speech-Language-Hearing Association
All participants not seeking one of the accreditations listed above will receive a Certificate of Attendance.
We are pursuing additional accreditations. Please check back for further information.
