Category: Virtual Autism Conference

Autism is April Awareness month and we at momsfightingautism.com would like to do our part to promote practical information and community awareness about autism.

On Saturday April 10th and Sunday April 11th momsfightingautism.com will be holding a free virtual conference, Things to Know About Autism, with 2 keynote addresses and 14 other presenters covering a wide variety of information.

Acknowledging that autism is a spectrum with different abilities, and challenges faced by those on the spectrum and their families, this two day event will have as keynotes Temple Grandin (Saturday 8:00 am PST) and Jeremy and Chantal Sicile-Kira (Sunday 8:00 am PST).

Temple Grandin, PhD, author (Thinking in Pictures, The Way I See It), assistant professor of animal science and highlighted in the recent HBO movie : Temple Grandin will be discussing a new topic: Teaching Through Specific Examples, and will also discuss the importance of Sensory Processing Disorder and it’s place in the DSM V which is currently being updated.

Jeremy Sicile-Kira, who uses assistive technology to communicate (as highlighted on MTV’s True Life “I Have Autism”) will be presenting Learning With Autism: A Personal Viewpoint, about the different educational therapies and treatments that have helped him. Chantal Sicile-Kira (41 Things To Know About Autism) will be discussing the same topic from the mother’s perspective.

Having a child with autism requires that a parent become informed on many topics. For this reason, we have chosen a variety of speakers addressing different aspects of autism. We have included information that will be useful for children and teens of all ability levels.

Presenters include Valerie Paradiz, Ph.D, author (The Integrated Self-Advocacy ISA™ Curriculum) speaking about teaching advocacy skills; Dr. Joshua Feder on DIR/Floortime; Debbie Bialer, author (Teach Toileting) on Toilet Training; Una Hayes-Shepard, MSW on Family Relationships; Mark Woodsmall, Attorney, on special education; Peggy Schaefer, Neurologic Music Therapy; Darlene Hanson MA, CCC on Communicaiton, Lisa Lieberman, MSW on Hiring Respite Care; Becky Estepp, TACA will present on Introduction to Autism; and more.

Mark your calendars and join us for this empowering knowledge-packed conference!

Conference Preview Part 1 – 4m 47sec

Conference Preview Part 2 – 8m 34sec

Conference Preview Part 3 – 4m 30sec

We are planning our first ever “virtual” autism conference. Mark your calendars for April 10-11th. Please send us your comments on what topics you want to hear about and also tell a friend.

I went to the autism walk today and really enjoyed myself. There were thousands of people there at Angel Stadium in Anaheim (Orange County). Lots of booths featuring autism related services and of course lots of food. I hope they reach their targets. More later..

Irvine, CA October 3, 2009 — Momsfightingautism.com, a social network that connects moms of children with autism on the internet, will host a new series of free webinars beginning on Tuesday, October 20^th from 6:00 to 8:00 PST, with guest speaker Dr. Cathy Pratt, Director of the Indiana Resource Center for Autism, and Chair of the Board for the National Autism Society of America. Dr. Pratt’s topic is “Practical Suggestions for Challenging Behaviors.”

Those who register at https://www.momsfightingautism.com/teleseminar/ can post the questions they would like to see answered.

In this time of economic hardships, Momsfightingautism.com continues to provide free advice from experts to help parents,” explained Chantal Sicile-Kira, author of Autism Life Skills and moderator for the webinars. “Webinars are a great way for the parent who feels isolated or cannot make it to conferences to stay connected and ask the questions they would like answered.”

Other speakers scheduled include:

Dr. Patrick Schwartz, on the topic “From Disability to Possibility: The Power of Inclusive Classrooms,” on Monday, November 30.

Dr. Esther Hess, on the topic “Autism and The Holidays: Lessening the stress and the expectations, while maximizing the enjoyment,” on Wednesday December 16.

Ann Palmer on the topic “Succeeding in College with Autism or Asperger Syndrome,” on Monday January 11, 2010.

These webinars are a part of an interactive series that Ernest Priestly, founder of MomsfightingAutism.com, has been providing over the past year. Listeners on the webinars are able to post a question live while the speaker is presenting. “This interactivity always brings out more in the speaker and the moderator,” said Ernest, “It helps those who are listening, and searching for answers, get the information they really want and need.”

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