“Part of the beauty of Bernstein Cognitive Method for Autism is its simplicity: it evaluates and works with children in their everyday environments.” “Departing from the traditional behavioral approach to working with children with autism, Bernstein’s method seeks to understand and modify thinking processes...” Stephen Shore

Patty Laushman, director and head coach at Thrive Autism Coaching, shares advice on supporting and raising autistic teens and young adults. She discusses how to communicate in engaging ways, support in ways that can deepen parent/child relationships, and set boundaries that support your own quality of life.

Do you love or work with someone on the autism spectrum who makes sounds but does not (reliably) use spoken words to communicate? Kate will show you, step by step, how to ignite language lift-off - without pushing or pressuring. If you want help turning sounds into words and single words into two-word phrases, this is for you.

This session is designed to empower both parents and professionals with the knowledge and tools needed to nutritionally support children on the autism spectrum. This presentation focuses on the intersection of nutrition and sensory needs, providing actionable strategies for improving dietary variety and nutritional intake in a way that respects and accommodates unique sensory preferences.

When families receive the diagnosis of Autism, they often become engulfed in a sea of unknown variables with no clear guidelines or tangible map. They ask what the future will look like for their family, the parents, the child with autism, the siblings. Relationship based Dynamic Intelligence Program (RDI (TM)) looks at this dilemma from a perspective that families are designed to live their lives together, where they find support for the emotional hills and valleys that are specific to the lives they lead.

This session will equip parents, legal professionals, educators, and support networks with a comprehensive legal toolkit for navigating divorce with a focus on the well-being of children with ASD.

In this session, the founder of Exceptional Needs Today Magazine, Amy Tobik shares her story and highlights her mission to bring awareness, acceptance, and inclusion through the distribution of the Exceptional Needs Today Magazine.

In this session, Michael Beloff provides in-depth and detailed information about available government benefits and how these can be accessed for families with special needs children and adults.

In a motivational and heartwarming session presented by film maker Ron Zimmerman, Ron will share the experience and insights gained from working with the families involved in the film Fierce Love and Art.

In this paradigm-shifting lecture, Raun K. Kaufman takes us on a deep dive into the three neuro-states of autism so that we can approach our loved ones in a way that is matched (instead of mismatched) to their current neuro-state, enabling connection rather than overload, ease rather than anxiety, blossoming rather than meltdowns.

In a session featuring the founder of the US Autism Association, along with the primary conference moderator and other key speakers of the US Autism Association, this panel will share the wisdom that comes only from raising a child on the autism spectrum into adulthood.

In this remarkable interview, Dr. Laurence Becker is joined by cinematographer Ron Zimmerman for an inside look into the film Fierce Love and Art. The film, narrated by Dr. Temple Grandin, shares the stories of 9 world-famous artists, who had the support of “fierce love” parents who didn’t give up on helping them to find their hidden talents.