Educational Partnership Furthered with Neighboring Autism Society of Greater Wisconsin

AuSM furthered its collaboration with the Autism Society of Greater Wisconsin throughout 2023 as co-hosts of virtual conference content in April and as co-presenters of our popular workshop, Language Development in Neurodivergent and Other Gestalt Language Processors in December. Beginning during Autism Acceptance Month, AuSM and the Autism Society of Greater Wisconsin worked together to record breakout sessions from each of our separate, in-person conferences to be made available as a virtual package online. With diverse topics including plain language writing, sexuality, classroom management, and grief, these sessions were incredibly popular.

Following up on this success, we partnered once again in December. Presented by Marge Blanc, a speech-language pathologist for 45 years, our collaborative workshop explained how gestalt language development differs from analytic language development, and how to support it in clients and students. This workshop was well-received by our large, virtual audience of SLPs, OTs, PTs, teachers, support staff, parents/family members, and autistic adults from throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. Response from our community was so strong that AuSM brought Marge back for a follow-up workshop in 2024, with a deeper dive into the nuance of gestalt language.