“Piecing Together the Puzzle: A Conference on Autism”

SAVE THE DATE!

“Piecing Together the Puzzle: A Conference on Autism” will be held Saturday, October 17, 2009, at Summit Church in Fort Myers near Florida Gulf Coast University. The conference will feature the expertise and practical advice of a variety of experienced local professionals and parents, and there is no charge to attend. Planned topics include speech and occupational therapy, behavioral therapy (ABA), sensory integration, education and IEPs, diet and nutrition, biomedical treatment, advocacy, community resources, faith, and fathers of children with autism.

“Many parents don’t have the time and money to go to the bigger state and national conferences,” said conference co-organizer Kelly Powell, local autism advocate and mother of a young son with autism. “We wanted to coordinate something here in Southwest Florida that took advantage of local expertise and featured practical advice that parents could go home and use immediately to help improve the quality of their child’s life and their family’s life.”

The conference will run from 8:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and will feature a variety of hour-long break-out sessions with time for questions and answers in each session. The information will be geared to parents of affected children ages two to ten. A vendor fair at the conference will feature information and materials from advocacy organizations, support groups, related businesses, and more.

Conference registration information will be announced in September. To be added to the e-mail list to receive upcoming information about the conference, contact Kelly Powell at autismconference@comcast.net or (239) 707-3115.