ECHO Autism Communities Symposium
For Health Professionals, Advocates, and Autistic Individuals
“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.
Registration and Event Details Coming Soon
Symposium Speakers
Dr. Kristin Sohl is a pediatrician, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Missouri, and Founder and Executive Director of ECHO Autism Communities. She leads national and international efforts to transform autism care by strengthening healthcare workforce capacity and expanding access to high-quality, community-based diagnosis and longitudinal care.
Under her leadership, ECHO Autism Communities has established partnerships with more than 50 children’s hospitals and autism centers across the United States and over 50 international sites. Dr. Sohl serves on the Executive Committee of the American Academy of Pediatrics Council on Children with Disabilities and is the Immediate Past Chair of its Autism Subcommittee. She also serves as Medical Director of the University of Missouri Office of Continuing Education for Health Professions.
Her work is grounded in the belief that high-quality autism care should not depend on geography or access to specialty centers, and that equipping community-based clinicians is essential to building more equitable and sustainable systems of care.
Reggie Combs-Harris is an autism social worker and behavioral health therapist at Nemours Children’s Health, where he supports autistic children, youth, and their families through neurodiversity-affirming, family-centered care. His clinical and professional experience spans pediatric healthcare, behavioral health, child welfare, family engagement, and community-based care systems.
Reggie is also a Doctor of Social Work candidate whose work examines racialized ableism, systemic labeling, and equity in services for BIPOC autistic children and families. He brings both professional expertise and lived experience as a father of an autistic son. He has been actively involved in Project ECHO initiatives focused on strengthening provider knowledge, caregiver partnerships, and community capacity.
He also serves on the American Academy of Pediatrics Family Partnerships Network Executive Committee and contributes to national efforts focused on youth and family-centered care, disability, and meaningful family engagement.
Laurel Duever-Collins is a speech-language pathologist with 15 years of experience specializing in augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), voice disorders, and traumatic brain injury. She currently serves as an AAC evaluator with MU Health Care and the Children’s Therapy Center, where she also works in the cerebral palsy, cleft lip and palate, and Down syndrome clinics. She completes an average of four AAC evaluations each week and is one of only 5 Medicaid-approved pediatric AAC evaluators in the state. Before moving into clinic work, Laurel spent eight years in Columbia Public Schools, supporting students in self-contained classrooms. Outside of work, she is a mom of two boys and directs a barbershop chorus.
Stephen Shore was 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 Emmy Award-Winning 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, and the Organization for Autism Research (OAR), president emeritus of the Asperger/Autism Network, and advisory board member of the Autism Society, Dr. Shore also serves on the advisory boards AANE, and other autism related organizations.
Lori McIlwain is the Founder and President of the National Autism Safety Council and a nationally recognized advocate for autism safety, particularly in the areas of elopement and drowning prevention. After her son with autism went missing from a school playground in the 2000s, she began systematically tracking missing-person cases involving autistic individuals – work that grew into the first national dataset of its kind and revealed drowning as the leading cause of death in elopement-related incidents. Her findings were presented before a federal committee and have helped transform how first responders and families search for missing persons with autism. Over two decades, Lori has published multiple studies on lethal outcomes in elopement, developed national safety programs and initiatives like Search Water First, SafeSwim for Autism, and the Big Red Safety Box, trained caregivers, first responders, and educators nationwide, and helped shape federal guidelines in partnership with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Barry M. Prizant is recognized as among the world’s leading scholars on autism and neurodiversity, and as an innovator of respectful, person- and family-centered approaches in supporting neurodivergent individuals. He is known internationally for his inspiring keynote addresses and presentations. He currently is the Director of Childhood Communication Services, a private practice, and an Adjunct Professor of Communicative Disorders at the University of Rhode Island. Barry has fifty years of experience as a clinician, an international consultant and researcher. He has served as an Associate Professor of Psychiatry in the Brown University Medical School and has held a tenured professor appointment at Emerson College. Barry has published five books, more than 150 articles and chapters, and is a co-author of The SCERTS Model: A Comprehensive Educational Approach, published in seven languages, and now being implemented in more than a dozen countries. He has been a two-time featured presenter (2013, 2017) at the United Nations World Autism Awareness Day in New York City and has given more than 1000 presentations in major universities and medical schools across the US and in more than 25 countries. Barry’s recent book Uniquely Human: A Different Way of Seeing Autism (co-authored with Tom Fields-Meyer – Simon & Schuster, 2022 expanded edition) has been the best-selling book on autism since 2015, with the audiobook version that Barry narrated. It is now published in 26 languages and was ranked by Book Authority as #1 of the “100 best books on autism of all time”. Barry also co-produces and co-hosts a podcast, Uniquely Human: The Podcast (www.uniquelyhuman.com) with his friend, Dave Finch, an autistic audio engineer and New York Times best-selling author. It is ranked # 1 of all time by Goodpods in categories of disability, psychiatry, autism, and ADHD. His forthcoming book (with Tom Fields-Meyer) is, “Every Brain Belongs: Understanding and Supporting Neurodivergent People in Your Life (including yourself) will be published by Penguin Random House in Spring, 2027.
ECHO Autism Communities Symposium Agenda
April 1, 2027
Time (CT)
Topic
Presenters
8:00 – 8:15 am
Welcome & Opening Remarks
Kristin Sohl, MD
8:15 – 9:15 am
Uniquely Human: Ask Why, Not What’s Wrong
Barry Prizant, PhD, CCC-SLP
9:15 – 10:15 am
Autism and Safety: From Awareness to Action
Lori Mcllwain
10:30 – 11:45am
Listen to the Spectrum: See Possibilities in All Abilities
Stephen Shore, Ed.D., and Panelists
11:45 – 12:45pm
Communication Beyond Speech: Understanding AAC for Autistic People
Laurel Duever-Collins, MS, CCC-SLP
BREAK 12:45 – 1:00 PM
1:00 – 2:00pm
Different Doesn’t Mean a Problem: Understanding Autistic Traits and When Behaviors Need Support
Reggie Combs-Harris, MSW, LCSW
2:00 – 3:00pm
Supporting Thriving: Making Shared Decisions About Autism Supports and Services
Kristin Sohl, MD
3:00 – 3:15pm
Closing Remarks
Kristin Sohl, MD
Continuing Education
Continuing Medical Education (CME)
In support of improving patient care, University of Missouri – Continuing Education for Health Professions is jointly accredited by the Accreditation Council for Continuing Medical Education (ACCME), the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE), and the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), to provide continuing education for the healthcare team.
The University of Missouri – Continuing Education for Health Professions designates this 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 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 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.
Association of Social Work (ASWB-ACE)
As a Jointly Accredited Organization, University of Missouri – Continuing Education for Health Professions is approved to offer social work continuing education by the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) Approved Continuing Education (ACE) program. Organizations, not individual courses, are approved under this program. Regulatory boards are the final authority on courses accepted for continuing education credit. Social workers completing this course receive 6.25 general continuing education credits.
American Psychological Association (APA)
Continuing Education (CE) credits for psychologists are provided through the co-sponsorship of the American Psychological Association (APA) Office of Continuing Education in Psychology (CEP). The APA CEP Office maintains responsibility for the content of the programs.
Note for New York Psychologists (APA)
In the field of psychology, each state board retains sovereignty in relation to what it does or does not accept for meeting licensing requirements. The state of New York has decided that they will not honor APA-approved credits but will instead only honor CE credits by organizations that they themselves have approved. Jointly Accredited providers would need to seek approval for New York psychologists separately, through the state of New York.
Interprofessional Continuing Education (IPCE)
This activity was planned by and for the healthcare team, and learners will receive 6.25 Interprofessional Continuing Education credit for learning and change.
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA)
The University of Missouri, Department of Speech, Language, and Hearing Sciences 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 is approved for up to 0.6 ASHA CEUs at the intermediate level. Attendees may only claim the credit commensurate with the extent of their participation in the activity.
Relevant Financial Relationship Disclosures
Relevant Financial Relationship Disclosures
The Standards for Integrity and Independence in Accredited Continuing Education state that participants in CE activities should be made aware of any relevant affiliation or financial relationship 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.
Funding for this program comes from the Missouri Department of Mental Health. ECHO Autism is a part of the University of Missouri School of Medicine, Department of Pediatrics
Kristin Sohl, MD is a medical science collaborator for Quadrant Biosciences.
Joshua Smith, MD receives research support from the following: Janssen Pharmaceuticals, Bristol Meyer Squibb, Vanda Pharmaceuticals, NICHD and NIMH.
All relevant financial relationships have been mitigated. No other relevant financial relationships were identified for any member of the planning committee or any presenter of the program content.
