Autism conference - worthwhile?

iVillage Member
Registered: 02-17-2002
Autism conference - worthwhile?
2
Sat, 08-18-2007 - 10:57pm
I was cleaning off my desk this afternoon and found a flier DS' special ed teacher sent home with him last spring for an ASD conference next month. It's designed for parents and guardians of children with an ASD. I'm tempted to see if DH wants to go, but I'm wondering if it will be worthwhile or not. So many of the books I've picked up don't really apply to DS because he's pretty high-functioning (PDD) and the books seemed to be geared toward children with true Autism Disorder who are more low-functioning (non-verbal, etc.) I don't know if I'm making any sense with this question. Has anyone here attended an ASD conference and felt like it applied well to your PDD or Aspie child??
iVillage Member
Registered: 03-26-2003
Sun, 08-19-2007 - 12:53am

Depending on who is giving the conference and the topics they are covering, yes I have found them very helpful. Often conventions will have a variety of break out sessions. I choose the ones I think apply most to what I want to hear. Often if I find a conference useless at this time it is because it is a repeat of information I already have or have heard too many times.

See if you can get a schedule of the conference to see what might be applicable. For a more able child things like homework help, organizational skills, social skills like comic strip conversations and social maps might help.

Renee

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iVillage Member
Registered: 01-19-2005
Sun, 08-19-2007 - 8:30pm

I agree with Renee. I have attended two "big" conferences, one DAN sponsored (biomed focus) and another put on by our state CARD program (education focus). Both had a wide array of speakers and were worthwhile.

I have also attended SOOO MANY one evening mini-seminars or talks on all kinds of ASD things. These have been really good too. Also through the local univ. and these were free. The conferences were not free, but I did find them helpful.

Also, in additon to getting information or ideas. I felt a kind of "bonding" experience being with other parents of ASD kids, no matter their level of "function." It was kind of empowering, actually.

Katherine