Thank you to Free for Life International for the opportunity to talk about autism & vulnerability (30 minutes).

My 6:47 radio interview on the state of autism research can be found by clicking on the picture below and going to April 30th, 2021: Nothing without us (marked below with a star).

Thank you Dena Gassner and Towson University for allowing me to share my story with another wonderful class of upcoming teachers. I wish you all the best in your educational trajectory and your careers.

I am humbled and honoured to be nominated for the George L. Geis Dissertation Award. The award is sponsored by the Canadian Society for the Study of Higher Education for the outstanding dissertation or thesis in Canadian universities that examines higher topics. Dissertations and theses focus on topics in higher education, including the sociopolitical context, access, governance, teaching and learning, institutional studies, and education and employment.             

Hosted by Free for Life International, this conference looks at Autistic individuals transitioning into adulthood, the risks and vulnerabilities related to human trafficking, and the cross-section between the autistic population and trafficking dangers. It is free to attend and I will be speaking at 1pm PST today.

Our Parent Advocacy course is now available on the Autism Training Academy website. This 30-minute course is designed for parents and caregivers who are looking for tools to better understand:

• parent advocacy in different environments
• the relationship between advocacy and leadership
• the ways in which you can be a strong parent advocate for your child
• how to support your child to be their own self-advocate

This course includes games and tools you can utilize immediately. Resources are available at the end of the course. Completion of this course earns you a digital badge you can use on your CV, website, or on LinkedIn.

I am proud to share that my lovely friends Judy Singer (credited with coining the term neurodiversity), Dr. Kristen Gillespie-Lynch (ally and autism researcher extraordinaire) and I are speaking about ND/UD/Intersectionality. It’s free and all are welcome to join us for an interactive discussion. Here is the link to register: https://www.eventbrite.com/…/is-universal-design-enough…. Feel free to share.

We’re excited to announce the launch of the Autism Training Academy. The Autism Training Academy offers research-based, online, and asynchronous micro-trainings about autism and neurodiversity. All our courses are designed by Autistic experts and our brilliant allies. We currently have a free 20-minute online course called ‘Introduction to Autism’. This course is for everyone who wants to learn more about autism. Families, friends, and allies of Autistic individuals as well as those who want to be educated to understand and appreciate Autistic individuals will find this micro-training valuable.

The Academy also offers the 1-hour fee-based course ‘Introduction to Autism and Universal Design for Faculty’. This course is suitable for all faculty members in higher education who want to understand and appreciate Autistic students in their classrooms and how a Universal Design framework can be of great benefit to Autistic students and all students.

All courses can be accessed at www.autismtraining.academy. The next fee-based course ‘Parent Advocacy’ is currently being designed as part of our leadership series. Other courses in the leadership series will include: self-advocacy and your rights as an Autistic research partner. Please visit our website often as more free and fee-based courses will be made available on the website on an ongoing basis.

Kelly Bron Johnson and Doug Blecher were kind enough to interview me for their podcast. Listen to this fun 26:37 minute interview about ableism, race, and the education system. That’s right…I said fun.

I am thrilled to be a part of Autism Spain’s country-wide conference on “The education of students with ASD during the covid-19 pandemic. Analysis, challenges and proposals for the future”. I will be speaking on my subject-matter-expertise: Autism & The Pandemic- Utilizing Universal Design skills to advance online and face-to-face teaching for Autistic students and all students in higher education. Thank you to Maria Verde Cagiao and the team for an excellent conference so far. I look forward to speaking on December 3rd, 2020. http://www.autismo.org.es/actualidad