AuSM Workshop: Maximizing Your Disability Services

Date: January 24, 2025; 9 a.m.-12 p.m.Two individuals collaborating at a desk with charts and graphs spread out. One person is using a laptop, and the other, seated in a wheelchair, gestures while discussing ideas. A notebook with handwritten notes and a coffee mug are visible on the table.
Presented by: Barbara Luskin, PhD (she/her) and Jillian Nelson (she/her)
Pricing: $59.99 (non-member), $49.99 (member), $39.99 (autistic individual)
Held Virtually: recording will be available for one month after the workshop

REGISTER

Join us for a workshop focused on empowering individuals with disabilities and their families in Minnesota through person-centered planning and innovative approaches. This session will guide participants on how to leverage available disability services effectively while fostering a personalized, strengths-based approach to support and services.

Key topics include:

  • Introduction to Person-Centered Planning: Learn the principles and practices of person-centered planning that prioritize individual goals, preferences, and aspirations, allowing you to create a tailored support plan.
  • Creative Solutions for Everyday Challenges: Discover unique strategies and resourceful ideas to overcome barriers in accessing services and achieving personal goals. Participants will share success stories and brainstorm creative solutions together.
  • Navigating the System: Gain insights into the array of available services—Including: housing, community supports, employment support and more—and how to effectively advocate for what best fits your needs.
  • Effective Communication with Service Providers: Develop tools to communicate your needs effectively, ensuring that your voice is heard and incorporated into service planning.
  • Empowerment and Self-Advocacy: Strengthen your self-advocacy skills to inspire confidence in navigating the disability services landscape.

This workshop aims to equip you with practical knowledge, skills, and creative ideas to navigate disability services in Minnesota successfully. Together, we’ll explore new avenues for achieving independence, fulfillment, and personal growth.

Presenters

Dr. Barbara Luskin is a licensed psychologist who has worked closely with children and adults with ASD for more than 30 years in professional and home settings. She specializes in providing both assessments and counseling to individuals with ASD and those who support them. Dr. Luskin serves the local autism community in multiple capacities including professional consultation, autism trainings, certification instruction, and individual work with clients.

Jillian Nelson is a queer autistic adult from Saint Paul and is the full-time Community Resource and Policy Advocate for AuSM. Jillian is passionate about disability justice and teaching others to advocate for themselves, as well as reforming existing systems through legislation and advocacy to create a more equitable and accessible society for people with all types of disabilities. Jillian is a 2023-24 Humphrey Policy Fellow. She is passionate about diversity and intersectionality – and how that unfolds in the mosaic experience of people with disabilities.

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