2008
Mid-Year Meeting
May 7-9, 2008
Hilton Nashville Downtown
Nashville, Tennessee
Beyond the Spectrum:
New Knowledge, Perspectives, and Strategies
to Support People with Autism and other Complex Needs
Meeting Presentations
To view a presentation file, click on the appropriate file name (e.g., Moseley.ppt). The presentations are in the format submitted by the each panel and/or session presenter.
= Word Document
= PDF File
= PowerPoint Presentation
The Autism Community:
Where We Are, Where We Are Going, and Where We Should Be
Lee Grossman
President and CEO
Autism Society of America (ASA)
Autism Self Advocates: "Out of the
Box"
Valerie Paradiz, PhD
Co-Founder
Open Center for Autism
Lars Perner, PhD
Assistant Professor
Marshall School of Business at the University of Southern California
Dena Gassner, MSW
Writer, Coach, Self-Advocate
In order to provide meaningful, tangibly productive supports to individuals with autistic spectrum diagnoses (ASDs), agencies and organizations must challenge themselves to reframe and rethink approaches to invisible disability issues. In this panel presentation, three individuals with ASD described their initiatives so that others may understand the urgency and need to go "outside of the box" in seeking genuine answers to vocational development, life skills learning, independent and supported living, health care, and education for individuals with ASDs.
Paradiz-Perner-Gassner.ppt
(2.5 MB)
Dr. Roger Stevenson
Director
Greenwood Genetic Center
Dr. Ted Brown
Director
New York State Institute for Basic Research (IBR) in Developmental Disabilities
Decades of genetic research, the sequencing of the human genome, and linkage
of gene mutations to human disease have brought the field of medical genetics
to the threshold of therapies. Certain curative therapies and other prevention
technologies are well-established; other therapies are emerging from the laboratory
or clinical trials, and still others are being conceptualized on the horizon.
Dr. Stevenson provided an overview of these established and promising genetic
therapies and technologies that address autism. Dr. Brown summarized other
exciting recent developments in our understanding of the genetics of autism
and new neuropathological findings. He presented an overview of New York State
OMRDD and IBR's efforts to organize an autism consortium.
Brown.ppt (2.2
MB)
A National View of HCBS Waivers Serving
People with Autism
Ellen Blackwell, MSW
Health Insurance Specialist
Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services
Ms. Blackwell provided an overview of what's happening with states that are using or applying for specific autism waivers and an update on federal efforts.
Blackwell.ppt
(3.2 MB)
Nina Wall-Côté
Director, Bureau of Autism Services
Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, Department of Public Welfare
The Pennsylvania Bureau of Autism Services
(BAS) was created in February 2007 to continue the work of the statewide Autism
Task Force. BAS, housed in the Office of Developmental Programs, is developing
new programs for adults over the age of 21 with autism spectrum disorder (ASD),
and working to improve existing service systems for individuals with ASD across
the lifespan, through training, collaboration with other program offices,
awareness, and other means.
WallCote.ppt
(1.1 MB)
ASD and Mental Health Diagnoses
Michelle Garcia Winner
Social Cognitive Specialist and Speech Language Pathologist
Think Social, Inc.
Social Skills evolve from social thinking. Those with social thinking challenges
often feel they are not received well by others; mental health issues consequently
spring forth. In today's talk, we will explore co-existing mental health issues
often related to those with ASD and strategies we can use to help.
Winner.ppt
(528 KB)
Dr. Miles provided an overview of social and relationship skills
research and interventions for individuals with ASD. Emphasis was placed on
practical integration of social skills into daily life.
SmithMylesHandouts.pdf
(2 MB)
Autism Policy and Service Strategies in
South Carolina
Dr. Stan Butkus
State Director
South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs
Kathi K. Lacy
Associate State Director, Policy
South Carolina Department of Disabilities and Special Needs
Presenters covered the state's new insurance
law supporting children with autism through specialized services, the state's
16-month experience with its home and community-based waiver for children
with pervasive developmental disorders (PDDs), and other state and local efforts
for persons with autism spectrum disorders.
Butkus-Lacy-Davis.ppt
(381 KB)
The autism waiver experience in Massachusetts demonstrates a
variety of unique features both in design and implementation. System learning
and challenges abound.
George.ppt
(116 KB)
A Family Perspective: Challenges and Innovations in Finding Autism Services
Tammy and Morgan Vice
Parent Advocate & Self Advocate
This is our family's personal ongoing journey for services and supports; the dreams and disappointments, and the hope of a brighter future for all families living in the spectrum of autism.
Sita and Roger Diehl
Executive Director, NAMI Tennessee & Self Advocate
Janet Shouse
Parent Advocate
The presentation described challenges and joys of parenting
a child with Asperger's syndrome. Recommendations were made for services and
supports that helped, or would have helped, families like the Diehls. In particular,
supports for transition-age youth and their families were discussed.
Transition and Adult Services for Youth
with Autism
Dr. Cathy Pratt
Director, Indiana Resource Center for Autism
University of Indiana
When properly supported and prepared, individuals on the autism
spectrum can hold meaningful jobs in the community. This session discussed
characteristics of those on the spectrum and identify needed supports. In
addition, the role of transition planning was highlighted.
Pratt.ppt
(269 KB)
Update on Missouri:
Steps States Need to Take to Accommodate the Rising Tide of Autism Service
Needs
Tec Chapman
Deputy Director
Division of MRDD, Missouri Department of Mental Health
Julia Kaufmann
Director of the Office of Autism Services
Division of MRDD, Missouri Department of Mental Health
The growing population of individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders poses
challenges and opportunities for developmental disability service systems.
This session examined policy and programmatic issues relating to screening,
diagnosis, evaluation, and intervention for children, as well as promising
practices in supports and services across the lifespan for individuals with
ASDs. We highlighted successful models implemented in Missouri to address
early screening, diagnosis, evaluation, and intervention, as well as individual
and family support services and infrastructure development.
Chapman.ppt
(199 KB)
Kaufmann.ppt
(281 KB)
RapidResponseonepager.doc
(33 KB)
MARRAonepager(3).doc
(35 KB)
BR-familysummary.pdf
(38 KB)
RR-midmobrochure.pdf
(260 KB)
RR-statebrochure.pdf
(212 KB)
Mary Ann Seaton
Community Supports & Crisis Program Manager
Oregon Technical Assistance Corporation
Operating with a 4.5 FTE budget allocation
under Oregon's DD Services' Community Supports and Crisis contract, this presentation
showed how Oregon Technical Assistance Corporation's behavior specialists
provide proactive person-centered technical assistance, training, and crisis
intervention statewide to service providers and families of children and adults
with autism and other complex issues. A brief overview of the technical assistance
process and training programs was presented.
Three Views on States' Challenges in Dual Diagnosis Supports
Dr. Robert J. Fletcher
Founder & Chief Executive Officer
National Association for the Dually Diagnosed (NADD)
John Martin
Director
Ohio Department of Mental Retardation and Developmental Disabilities
Chas Moseley
Associate Executive Director
NASDDDS
Rob Fletcher reviewed national efforts to introduce standards through a new project for competency-based staff training and technical assistance.
John Martin discussed the issue from a state perspective with a presentation on the lessons learned by Ohio through implementation of its collaborative dual diagnosis Coordinating Center for Excellence.
Chas Moseley provided a national overview
through a presentation of key findings from a report by the Association on
states' strategies for serving individuals with co-existing conditions.
Fletcher.ppt
(248 KB)
Martin.ppt
(212 KB)
Moseley.ppt
(660 KB)
New Medical & Biomedical Research and Implications for Services and Supports
Martha R. Herbert, MD, PhD
Assistant Professor, Pediatric Neurology
Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School
Our view of autism is evolving from seeing it as a genetic disorder affecting the brain to appreciating that many body systems are involved, and that environment as well as genes can contribute to it. The brain may not be the primary target of the genes or environmental factors, but may be affected in parallel with other systems or even downstream of other problems. The idea that a developmental disorder could be at least in part environmental suggests that we need to look hard for both treatment and prevention opportunities. This insight has major implications for medicine, education, public health, and social policy as well as the quality of life of individuals with autism and their families and communities.
Herbert.ppt
(37.1 MB - please note that this is a very large file)
Behavioral Issues and Supports
Dr. Cathy Pratt
Director, Indiana Resource Center for Autism
University of Indiana
Individuals on the autism spectrum who engage in problematic
behavior present a tremendous challenge to service providers and are costly
to support. This session discussed special consideration for providing long-term
supports for those on the autism spectrum, including programmatic and funding
strategies.
Pratt.ppt
(403 KB)
Social Thinking
Michelle Garcia Winner
Social Cognitive Specialist and Speech Language
Pathologist
Think Social, Inc.
It is expected that as children grow they develop a solid "social
operating system" to allow them to learn effectively in groups. We explored
the intuitive nature of social development and how those with social learning
disabilities are impacted both socially and academically in daily life.
Winner.ppt
(6.3 MB)