Day 1 | November 7

Lending Your Calm: Hard Conversations About Caregiver Fears | Oswin Latimer

Parents have many common fears for their children once they hit adulthood. In this presentation, we will explore the ways parents talk about these concerns and proactive strategies to consider in your goal setting. Participants will also learn how to navigate these difficult conversations and provide a forward-looking plan with parents. 

After participating in this session, attendees should be able to: 

• Recognize coded language parents may use to express their fears and develop strategies to respond effectively. 
• Analyze how parental fears differ across different communities and apply culturally sensitive approaches to address them. 
• Identify proactive strategies to address parental fears before they are voiced, using support strategies focused on the child’s needs. 
• Implement actionable strategies that empower parents to feel more confident in supporting their child’s development and well-being. 

Video Games: Cultivating a Balanced and Healthy Approach | Dr. Elizabeth Kilmer

Video games have become ubiquitous in the lives of youth today, and can be powerful tools for connection, learning, and play. However, the landscape of games and online communities can be hard for caregivers and clinicians to navigate, and “screen time” can be a common point of contention between autistic youth and their families. This presentation is focused on empowering caregivers, families, and clinicians to support healthy video game use with autistic individuals. We will start by discussing key information about video games, including common myths, benefits, and therapeutic uses. Next, we’ll talk about collaborating with youth to set expectations about video game use, including routines, transitions, and safety considerations. Finally, we’ll explore ways you can engage with the autistic gamers in your life to strengthen your own relationship (even for those non-gamer caregivers and clinicians). 

After participating in this session, attendees should be able to: 

• Identify two potential benefits of video game participation. 
• List two tools to support the transition from playing a video game to another activity. 
• Discuss strategies for collaborating with autistic youth in setting expectations around video game use to reduce conflict and promote positive engagement. 
• Describe at least one-way intentional video game play can strengthen relationships with family members, even for caregivers or clinicians who are not familiar with gaming culture.

Good Times with Out-of-Sync Kids | Carol Stock Kranowitz

Successfully engaging and relating to children with SPD may be a big challenge for parents, grandparents, and teachers.  Hear about some fun and functional activities for grown-ups and kids to do together that get the children off the couch, away from their electronic devices, and in sync with the world around them.  

After participating in this session, attendees should be able to: 

• Integrate familiar and new sensory-motor activities into your repertoire, such as “Brush and Balance,” “Stoop-Stand-Drop,” and “Jumping Conversation,” that children enjoy.   
• Assess children’s sensory needs, interests, developmental skills, and energy levels while wearing imaginary Sensory Spectacles, and apply this understanding when inviting them to play.   
• Implement strategies to expand the possibilities for children’s joyful participation in their daily lives. 

Day 2 | November 14

Liberating Parents to Love Instead of Teach | Daniela Wachholtz

Liberating Parents to Love Instead of Teach" advocates for a shift in parenting from a focus on instruction to one centered on love and connection. Research shows that secure, loving relationships are key to children’s emotional development and self-regulation. Parents help children build intrinsic motivation, resilience, and empathy by prioritizing emotional support and connection over correction. The presentation encourages parents to use connection-based play, enjoy interactions, and validate children’s experiences, fostering a strong sense of self and healthy interactions that lasts into adulthood. 

After participating in this session, attendees should be able to: 

• Identify the role of play and interaction in emotional development. 
• Recognize the principles of interactions and sensory regulation in parent-child relationships. 
• Distinguish between directive play and engaged play and recall their basic impacts on child development. 
• List strategies to foster long-term emotional and social skills through consistent, supportive engagement. 
   

Setting the Stage for Parent Support: Behind the Scenes | Kathleen Platzman 

Parent support requires clinician support. This presentation will outline several approaches to such support. Clinicians will be offered strategies and urged to choose those that are consistent with their own preferences and needs. This talk is based on the idea that self-knowledge, strong preparation, openness to the passing moment, and crisis self-care can combine to guard against burn out, increase satisfaction and promote joy at work.  

After participating in this session, attendees should be able to: 

• Identify at least 3 individual/personal preferences for daily self-care that contribute to ease and interest in working with families. 
• List those situations that are personally frustrating when supporting families.  
• Apply a supportive re-frame to a frustrating situation or problem. 
• Describe at least three ways to measure their feelings of satisfaction and contentment when supporting families. 

Regulation is Contagious! Strategies Validate Sensory Needs, Create Sensory Safe Environments and Prevent Power Struggles | Greg Santucci 

Regulation is contagious! As we work to better understand and support our kids, a regulated caregiver is in a position to help a struggling child better than a dysregulated caregiver is. When caregivers focus on felt safety and regulation instead of compliance, the search for strategies can shift from “How do I get them to…”  or “Why won’t they just…” to “What do they need from me”. This workshop will explore familiar scenarios and present practical solutions to validate sensory preferences, create sensory safe environments and make durable, positive changes in behavior. 

After participating in this session, attendees should be able to: 

• Identify how the sensory systems impact our behavior and state regulation. 
• Modify the traditional “functions of a behavior” to a more supportive, neuroscience-informed description of behavior. 
• Integrate realistic strategies that empower caregivers to lead with curiosity, validate sensory processing differences and collaborate to solve problems. 

 

Specific Strategies for Neurodivergent Caregiving: Understanding the Impact of Caregiver Expectations on Autistic Children | Sarah McCulloch

It is now a fairly common experience for many autistic adults to receive their diagnosis after taking their children on a diagnostic journey. But what about the undiagnosed autistic adults caring for autistic relatives who have not realized the parallels? Sarah McCulloch, an autistic adult, activist and mental health occupational therapist, will outline some of her experiences and challenges working with this population and offer some strategies for autistic people and professionals aiming to work with families holistically. 

After participating in this session, attendees should be able to: 

• Identify potential causes of challenging dynamics within neurodivergent families. 
• Analyze possible responses, including trauma responses, within a neurodivergent context. 
• Develop holistic strategies and approaches to support clients. 
• Apply learned concepts into clinical practice. 

Day 3 | November 21

Building Trust and Rapport with Caregivers: Techniques for Establishing a Strong, Trusting Relationship with Caregivers from the Start | Daria Brown

The journey of caregivers of a neurodivergent child can be an emotional and stressful process in wanting the best for their child. Professionals can meet parents where they are by being curious, understanding, and compassionate about this process and journey. Techniques on how to be supportive in building trust and rapport will be discussed to raise awareness and build your capacity for respecting the families you see in your practice. 

After participating in this session, attendees should be able to: 

• List at least three needs expressed by parents following an ASD diagnosis. 
• Describe the individual differences of caregivers and their families on their journey and how that impacts their support needs. 
• Name at least three ways professionals can support families on their journey. 

Talking About Diagnoses Without Ableism | Lisa Marnell

When a loved one is diagnosed neurodivergent, caregivers often feel anxiety and grief. Much of this stress can be attributed to ableism which compares and prioritizes neuro-normative traits over neurodivergent lived experiences. Participants in this session will learn how to support caregivers throughout the process of diagnosis and beyond. This will include ways to initiate difficult conversations about real benefits and challenges of being diagnosed neurodivergent in an ableist world. A framework will guide caregivers to identify and reframe deficit-based language embedded within evaluations and during conversations with professionals and family members. Additionally, concrete strategies will be provided for caregivers to adopt a strengths-based lens in order to cultivate quality of life and self-empowerment within the lives of their neurodivergent loved ones. 

After participating in this session, attendees should be able to: 

• Identify whether a behavioral expectation within a community or school setting is ableist or not ableist for an autistic child or adult. 
• List three phrases commonly used by professionals that can damage the self-esteem of a neurodivergent person. 
• Recognize three deficit-based descriptions of neurodivergent client traits within a diagnostic evaluation and restate them as positive client strengths. 
• Summarize three actions a professional can take to support a shift in a caregiver’s perspective from ableist to neurodiversity-affirming. 

High Sensitivity or Sensory Processing Disorder | Melissa Schwartz 

Though sensory processing disorder (SPD) is well understood in the Sensory community, High Sensitivity (also referred to as Sensory Processing Sensitivity) is still becoming more commonly known. In this session attendees will learn the similarities and differences between SPD and SPS.  

After participating in this session, attendees should be able to: 

• Differentiate between Sensory Processing Disorder (SPD) and Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS), understanding the diagnostic criteria for SPD and the genetic temperament characteristics of SPS, which is found in 15-25% of the population. 
• Understand the neurological basis of sensory processing and identify which aspects are hardwired versus those that can be modified using occupational therapy strategies and tools. 
• Identify the four indicators of Sensory Processing Sensitivity (SPS) as defined by Dr. Elaine Aron. 

 

Expert Panel: Helping Parents Become Advocates with Dr. Virginia Spielmann, Daria Brown, Daniela Wachholz and Kathy Platzman 

"Helping Parents Become Advocates," features a diverse group of professionals dedicated to empowering parents in their advocacy roles for children with developmental needs. Led by Dr. Virginia Spielmann, an expert in child development, infant mental health, and occupational therapy, the panel includes Daria Brown, a parent and founder of Affect Autism; Daniela Wachholz, an occupational therapist and scholar practitioner; and Kathy Platzman, a psychologist and mentee/colleague of Dr. Stanley Greenspan, known for her expertise in the DIR/Floortime approach. Together, they will share insights, strategies, and resources to help parents navigate the complexities of advocating for their children’s needs within educational and healthcare systems. Participants will leave with practical tools and a deeper understanding of how to support their children effectively while fostering collaborative relationships with professionals. 

After participating in this session, attendees should be able to: 

• Learn techniques to foster collaborative relationships with caregivers, enhancing communication and partnership in the advocacy process.  
• Acquire tools and techniques to empower caregivers in their advocacy efforts, enabling them to navigate educational and healthcare systems more effectively for their children's benefit. 
• Understand how to balance a strengths-based approach with deficit focused assessment data to inform advocacy efforts to support children’s unique needs and strengths. 
• Gain skills to guide caregivers in recognizing and unlearning ableist beliefs, fostering a more inclusive perspective on disability and development.