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Attending an Autism Conference

March 25, 2013 by kimkaplan Leave a Comment

Recently, I discussed some tips on traveling without your autistic child. I specifically discussed how I had attended my annual writer’s conference in San Francisco and how I dealt with leaving my child for several days.

This time, I went away for one night to attend a two-day autism conference. The conference was called the “All Ages and Abilities Autism/Aspergers Conference.” It was a two day conference that took place in Huntington Beach, California.

Why do I attend autism conferences?

I may have discussed this in past blogs, but I feel the topic is important.

I attend conferences for two reasons.

Reason number one is that in California EVERY parent of a regional center client is entitled to one free conference a year.

I have discovered over the years that not every parent of a client knows this little tidbit. I do not think regional centers go out of their way to advertise this all that much. Why? Well, it does cost a regional center money at a time when money is tight. That’s what I think.

So why do I go?

Because I know I can ask for my one conference and they will still pay for it. You do have to ask, though.

What’s the worst that can happen? They can – one day – tell me that regional centers no longer fund one conference per year for parents of clients.

What is my second reason for attending conferences?

I also attend conferences in order to stay connected to the autism community. I find that attending a conference is a fantastic way to do this.

I get to stay connected to the latest information and topics and issues that concern me. I get to listen to many different speakers who are professionals in the autism world.

All of this directly affects my child, so I feel I need to do it.

Now, while attending a conference, I am not a newbie so I no longer write down every little thing. I do not “know it all,” but I do know a lot.

Still, I go because I feel I need to keep connected with current trends and research and have discovered that a conference is a great way to do this.

Is every conference out there worth attending?

I have attended some conferences that were not very well organized and the professionals they brought in to speak were rather mediocre.

Not every conference is successful. I am been to enough to know the difference.

In my next blog, I will discuss conferences more specifically – the positive and the negative.

To Find Kimberly Kaplan:

www.kimberlykaplan.com
www.smashwords.com or Amazon Kindle ebook “A Parents’ Guide to Early Autism Intervention”
Twitter: @tipsautismmom

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Filed Under: Parenting

About kimkaplan

As Kim and her husband cared for their son with autism, Kim was led back into writing. She wrote about her son's journey with autism which includes her son's struggles, the parental learning curve, their good fortunes...and a myriad of missteps. The resulting book "A Parents' Guide to Early Autism Intervention" has helped many parents with young children on the autism spectrum. She followed that book with another autism-related book, "Two Years of Autism Blogs Featured on ModernMom.com."
Kim continues to be active in the autism world. She blogs weekly for Modernmom.com as well as her own website. Her screenplay writing has blossomed with the addition of many autistic characters. She was featured on Shannon Penrod's show, "Autism Live." She volunteers and attends conferences as well as helps parents whenever she can.

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