Autistic Community Summit

The fifth annual Autistic Community Summit will be held in-person on Sep. 17, 2022, location yet to be determined. Sessions will also be available virtually through livestream, and will be recorded and available to attendees after the event.

This event centers autistics and allows them to share the wisdom they’ve gained through lives of experience. In the process, it builds leaders and advocates.

The application form for breakout session speakers for the event is now open! AuSM is seeking autistic speakers to apply to present at the event. Click here to fill out the application. If you would like to see a Microsoft Word version of the application, click here.

AuSM is specifically looking for individuals who would be comfortable leading group discussions focused on a specific topic. These sessions would involve a group of autistics brainstorming and sharing their needs and strategies, then compiling the results into a document that AuSM can share. For example, one session may focus on medical professionals, and the final document would be a resource of “what autistics want their providers to know” that individuals could share with their medical providers. Group discussion topics could include:

• Therapies autistics have tried: have they worked? Why?
• Sensory supports autistics have used
• What we want medical professionals to know
• How to find and train staff
• AuSM’s policy priorities/platform
• Or others!

Suggested topics for traditional breakout sessions include:

• Literature and arts from autistics
• Autistic passions
• Navigating and self-directing support services
• Managing interactions with medical providers
• How to write a waiver
• Meaningful inclusion, especially for those with higher support needs
• Hiring and training staff
• Person centered planning across the lifespan
• Autism and mental health
• Autistic pride/self-acceptance
• Autism and intersectionality, including race, age, gender, sexuality etc.
• Shutdowns and meltdowns
• Emotion regulation
• Managing medical interactions
• Masking
• Or others!

All topics relevant to autistics are welcome. Applications are due Friday, July 1.

The purpose of the Autistic Community Summit is to provide a space for community building and sharing the knowledge and perspectives of Minnesota’s autistic community. AuSM’s goal is to give helpful information for people at all levels, including those who are new to autism and those who have years of experience. It is also AuSM’s goal that all Community Summit presenters are neurodivergent. “Our Autism Community Summit was created by people with autism and for people with autism – people like me,“ said AuSM Community Engagement Manager Zephyr James.

For more information, please contact Zephyr James, AuSM’s Community Engagement Specialist, at 651.647.1083 ext. 23 or e-mail zjames@ausm.org. James is also available to discuss potential topics, support applicants as they fill out the form, and provide feedback.