Let’s Talk Visual Supports:
Learn about Communication Strategies for Home!
FREE Zoom meeting:
2 October 2023, 15h00 UTC; 1 pm EST (U.S.)
Stacy Badon – Everything Autism – Autism4Home
Join Zoom Meeting
https://us06web.zoom.us/j/83392372850?pwd=dDLCafDQno75MvKHH8WIe19nKESpoQ.1
WE WOULD LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE AND SAY THANK YOU!
TO OUR WAO COUNCIL MEMBERS WHO ARE PART OF THIS INITIATIVE,
AND WHO ARE GIVING THEIR TIME AND EXPERTISE FOR FREE!
..
Social Media Use and Autism – Teens and Adults:
Learn research updates on the impact of social media use on teens and adults with autism
FREE Webinar:
20 September 2023, 1 p.m. Eastern Time (U.S.)
Pamela Wisniewski, PhD.
We often equate keeping teens safe online to shielding them from experiencing online risks – such as information breaches, cyberbullying, sexual solicitations, and exposure to explicit content. However, this abstinence-only approach tends to be very parent-centric and does not take into account the developmental needs and teen-centric experiences of our youth, including those who are on the Autism Spectrum. Instead, Dr. Wisniewski’s research emphasizes teaching teens how to appropriately leverage technology to their advantage, stay safe while doing so, and learn how to cope with online risks when they encounter them. As adults, we often assume teens have no personal agency when it comes to their own online safety, and that they cannot effectively manage online risks by themselves. Yet, as parents and educators, it is our job to teach Autistic teens these skills, so that they can become well-formed and independent adults. Autistic teens can disproportionately benefit and be harmed online; therefore, it is important to take evidence-based precautions that protect them from harm without limiting their opportunities to connect with others and benefit from what the internet has to offer. Note: Just like everyone else, Autistic teens all have different strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, the perspectives shared during this talk may not be generalizable to all Autistic teens, particularly those who require more significant (i.e., Level 3) support in their daily lives.
REGISTER HERE: https://autism.org/social-media-use-and-autism-teens-and-adults/
Free certificates of participation are available upon successful completion of a brief knowledge quiz after the webinar. The quiz will be added to the Autism Research Institute page once the event has concluded.
- About the speaker:
- Pamela Wisniewski,PhD, is an endowed, Associate Professor in the Department of Computer Science at Vanderbilt University. She is a Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) scholar whose research lies at the intersection of Social Computing and Privacy. Dr. Wisniewski is an expert in the interplay between social media, privacy, and online safety for adolescents. She was one of the first researchers to recognize the need for a resilience-based approach, rather than an abstinence-based approaches to adolescent online safety, and to back this stance up with empirical data. She has authored over 100 peer-reviewed publications and has won multiple best papers (top 1%) and best paper honorable mentions (top 5%) at top conferences in HCI. She has been awarded over $4.72 million in external grant funding, including two prestigious career awards. She is the recipient of the National Science Foundation’s prestigious CAREER Award for her innovative, teen-centric approach to adolescent online safety, “Safety by Design: Protecting Adolescents from Online Risks,” and was the first computer scientist to ever be selected as a William T. Grant Scholar. Her research has been featured by popular news media outlets, including ABC News, NPR, Psychology Today, and U.S. News and World Report. In addition to her scholarly research with teens, Dr. Wisniewski is the wife of an AuDHD man and mother to an AuDHD daughter.
AUTISM AND PICA
FREE Webinar: 12 April 2023, 1 p.m. Eastern Time (U.S.)
Dean Alexander, Ph.D.
Free webinar at 1 p.m. Eastern time (US), Wednesday, 12 April 2023
Tune in to hear Dean Alexander, Ph.D., discuss pica, the ingestion of non-food substances, which has received insufficient attention as a common, sometimes lethal, form of self-injurious behavior. Behavioral approaches to treatment, more often than not, fall short. Biological intervention, if supported, may hold out new promise.
Handouts are available for download (PDF) HERE
This is a joint presentation by ARI and the World Autism Organisation.
REGISTER HERE: https://www.autism.org/autism-pica/
Free certificates of participation are available upon successful completion of a brief knowledge quiz after the webinar. The quiz will be added to the Autism Research Institute page once the event has concluded.
About the speaker:
Dr. Dean Alexander has worked at centers for children with physical handicaps and emotional disturbances and adults with developmental disabilities (Lanterman Developmental Center) before entering Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA. At CGU, Dr. Alexander teamed up with Dr. Laura Schreibman, then worked on Dr. Ivar Lovaas’s landmark Young Autism Project; this led to a case study and a co-authorship of Dr. Lovaas’s first two books. Returning to LDC as a psychologist, he co-authored the first behavioral treatment of pica while gaining familiarity with nutritional and vitamin-driven approaches through literature and conferences presented by the Autism Research Institute.
AUTISM SOUTH AFRICA:
WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS AND ACCEPTANCE MONTH:
Autistic Voices Matter!
What’s included in the pack? (Great ideas on what activities can be done for Autism Acceptance – April and beyond!)
∞ Autistic persons speak out about their rights.
∞ Identity First Language – Why and what?
∞ Nothing about us without us – where does this come from?
∞ Ideas on how to create acceptance and awareness.
∞ How to help Autism South Africa Raise Money. (You could create ideas of how to raise funds within your community).
∞ Where does that money go? (what pertinent projects or needs do you have in your country?)
∞ Autism Word Search.
∞ What is Autism Poster?
∞ Decorative Bunting.
∞ Colouring in page designed by autistic adult, Lindsey Carter.
∞ Word Search Answers.
Access the pack here: https://aut2know.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/WAAD-2023-FINAL.pdf
You can link to Autism South Africa and their resources at: https://www.aut2know.co.za
ONGOING:
AUTISM RESEARCH INSTITUTE WEBINARS:
Regular FREE webinars on various topics which can be viewed in recorded form too:
https://www.autism.org/webinars/
You can link to the ARI newsletter here: ARI Newsletter
UNITED NATIONS WORLD AUTISM AWARENESS DAY : 2 APRIL 2023
Transformation:
Toward a Neuro-Inclusive World for All
Virtual Event: Sunday, 2 April 2023, 10:00 a.m. – 1 p.m. EDT
| Programme |
2022 & beyond WAO International Activities
Due to circumstances beyond our control, the 2022 congress had to be cancelled. We are looking at holding a WAO congress in 2026. In the interim, we are looking at hosting live meeting style FREE seminars or webinars. Most of the requests for assistance and practical knowledge building come from poorly resourced countries and organisations. If you would like to take part in this project and impart your knowledge at no cost to the WAO or to the participants, send us an email with your details, your specialisation/topic of interest or your practical workshop information, including references and/or a website which details some of your work. (NO ABA, hyperbaric oxygen, bleach or other Autism unfriendly methods and therapies/treatments will be considered). Please include your favoured time for presentations and the country you are presenting from. If your country or organisation is interested in hosting a little conference or day-seminar (unfortunately we cannot help with sponsorships or donations), please send an email to info@worldautismorganisation.com to be put on the call-for-tender list.