The Learn Play Thrive Neurodiversity Summit for Caregivers

Autistic people experience the sensory world differently. For parents, a child's intense sensory response to everyday things (like getting dressed!) can feel baffling and turn quick routines into exhausting experiences for everyone. In this talk, OT Laura Petix will help you discover how to support your child's sensory sensitivities in a way that is gentle, approachable, kind, and effective. Laura Petix is an occupational therapist, mom to a neurodivergent kid, the author of A Kid's Book About Neurodiversity, and the owner of The OT Butterfly.

For Autistic PDAers, it's so hard to feel safe in this world. PDA stands for Pathological Demand Avoidance (or, as rebranded by Tomlin Wilding, the Pervasive Drive for Autonomy). PDAers experience everyday demands as a deep threat to their nervous system. And this impacts everything from eating, sleeping, and using the bathroom to playing games and learning. In this talk, Casey Ehrlich from At Peace Parents gives caregivers a starting point for understanding PDA and supporting their PDA child in a whole-hearted, compassionate, and practical way to create a felt sense of safety for their child.

Many Autistic kids have a hard time hearing the messages their body sends them. This is called interoception. It's the feeling of "I'm hungry"; "I need to pee"; "I'm scared"; and "I'm getting frustrated." When interoception is hard, how do we support our kids to identify and respond to their needs? In this talk, OT Kelly Mahler, author of The Interoception Curriculum, and Autistic OT Kim Clairy share practical ways to support kids to hear the important internal messages their bodies send them.

Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) gives non-speaking Autistic kids a way to share their inner world - their thoughts, feelings, needs, and wants - with those around them. But how do you introduce an AAC device? How do you fit it into your busy life? And how does your child learn to use it? In this talk, SLP Karina Saechao gives practical, easy-to-implement tips for families to introduce AAC to their child in a way that is truly child-driven, supporting kids to communicate the things that matter most to them at the times they want to say it. She also shares ways to ensure your AAC device reflects your child's language, family, and culture. Karina is an SLP, researcher and the owner of Golden Oak Speech Therapy.

Screens are part of our lives, and for many families, screen time battles are real. But most advice about screen time is shaming and not geared towards Autistic brains. Autistic parent coach Amanda Diekman has dug into the neuroscience around screen time, applied it to what we know about Autistic brains, and put it into practice with families across the country. Amanda is the parent of three children and the founder of Low Demand Amanda.

Often teachers and therapists learn that Autistic kids are "visual learners" and begin to put clipart on everything, including the child's schedule. While this is well-intentioned, sometimes it just doesn't land. Being a visual learner doesn't automatically mean you make sense of clipart. And for most families, picture schedules are nearly impossible to create, keep track of, and use. Especially with all of the day-to-day changes in our lives. In this talk, Learn Play Thrive founder Meg Ferrell will teach you how create simple, effective schedules using everyday objects when the clip-art isn't doing the trick. Meg Ferrell is an occupational therapist, a former clinical faculty member of UNC's TEACCH Autism Program, and the founder of Learn Play Thrive and Learn Play Thrive Parents. She's spent the last five years learning from the experiences of Autistic adults and training over 10,000 professionals in strengths-based approaches.

Inclusive social spaces - where our Autistic kids are understood and welcomed - can be hard to find. Lindsay Teitelbaum believes the social model of disability is the way forward, where we rely on one another to support the inclusion of disabled and neurodivergent people in all settings. In this talk, she'll give you the concrete skills to advocate for your Autistic child's social inclusion. Lindsay is the founder of Spirited Play Labs.

Autistic physician Dr. Mel Houser wants to reimagine what is possible for the health of Autistic people. And that starts with learning deeply about their unique health needs. In this interview, you'll learn about common health concerns for Autistic people that are often missed or misunderstood by medical professionals. Dr. Houser will help you break down the medical barriers that may stand in the way of your Autistic child's health truly thriving. Dr. Houser is the founder of All Brains Belong, VT.

Even though your child has access to language, did you know that an AAC device could free up their cognitive resources, stave off burnout, and help them access more opportunities? Dr. Alyssa Hillary Zisk is a neuroscientist, researcher for AssistiveWare, and part-time AAC user. Their work and lived experience show how access to communication tools can increase access to inclusion, community, growth, and connection for nearly every Autistic child. In this interview, Dr. Zisk will help you understand how, when, and why AAC may benefit your Autistic child.