Several Thompson Center Training Core team members spent January on-the-go. To kick off 2024, Thompson Center Training Core Director Cortney Fish, Autism Training Specialists Jaclyn Benigno and Julie Muckerman, and Behavior Analyst Jennifer DeLaporte traveled to Washington, D.C. where they trained 20 businesses in Loudoun County as part of the Autism Friendly Business program. This initiative provides training for businesses so that all families in their community can feel welcomed and supported. The Thompson Center did its first training for businesses in Loudoun County back in 2015. One of the businesses they did the training for this year was the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum. Check out the out-of-this-world photos they took while they were at the museum!
The following week, the four Training Core staff members joined Thompson Center Speech-Language Pathologist Michelle Dampf in Honolulu, Hawaii for the 25th International Conference on Autism, Intellectual Disability & Developmental Disabilities. The conference featured the most current research and practice recommendations related to improving educational outcomes for individuals with autism and intellectual and developmental disabilities. This year’s focus was on diversity, equity, inclusion, and justice with more than 400 interactive lectures, panels, roundtables, poster presentations, networking socials, and so much more to participate in.
Several of the Thompson Center representatives presented their research at this conference as well. Michelle and Mizzou faculty member Dr. Jena Randolph presented on effective speech-generating device use and autism spectrum disorder. Through their research, they gained insight into the barriers that professionals face when teaching children with complex communication needs. Overall, Michelle said that she was impressed with the quantity and quality of information provided at the conference to help improve her professional knowledge.
Cortney and Jaclyn presented Striving For Tomorrow: Transition to Employment for Students with Autism. The presentation was about STRIVE, a post-secondary education and independence program tailored for 18- to 30-year-olds with autism or similar diagnoses. Jennifer and Julie attended the conference for professional development opportunities.
