Two of the most frequent asked questions of our Pilot Club of Great Bend Autism committee is, what happens to children with disabilities and autism when they become teens or adults? And how do we navigate the stressors and challenges as a family with an autistic or neurotypical member?
The aim of our workshop is to help answer those often-asked questions by bringing professional speakers and presenters and a personalized afternoon panel, while providing avenues to resources for families. The workshop is designed for parents, grandparents of children with autism, caregivers, childcare providers, educators, professionals, and people diagnosed with ASD. Participants will have the opportunity to select sessions on topics connected to their area of interest or profession.
Joining our featured speaker, Dr. Kerry Magro, October 5, at Barton Community College, are two recognized professionals Jennifer Schreiner, LCP, BCBA, LBA and Tami Allen the Co-Executive Director for Families Together, Inc.
Jennifer R. Schreiner, LCP, BCBA& LBA is the Director of Outpatient Clinical Services at Horizons Mental Health Center in Hutchinson, Kansas. She has worked 15 years in community health centers providing therapy and ABA services to families and individuals with Autism, in school, home, and community. Jennifer Schreiner Sessions: Navigating Stressors and Family Challenges with Neurodiverse Children.
Tami Allen is Co-Executive Director for Families Together, Inc, the Kansas Parent Training & Information Center, and the Program Director for the Family-to-Family Health Information Center. Families Together support families who have children with a disability or special healthcare needs. Tami is a LifeCourse Ambassador & a trainer for the Charting the LifeCourse Framework and has a young adult with special needs. Tami Allen Sessions: Charting the LifeCourse Framework, Living the "GoodLife" for Children with Disabilities.
The afternoon panel includes parents of autistic children and one young adult with autism, and will be moderated by Alyson Burkhart, BCBA. There will be questions to the panel about how they deal with events in their daily lives. Audience participation is encouraged.
Our panel presenters are Jaimee Beugelsdijk a teacher with three children, John age 7 was diagnosed with ASD and global developmental delay at age 2. Hillary Emerson an ECSE teacher with a graduate certificate in ASD has three children, Elaine age 14 who was diagnosed at age 3. Trina Morgan has two adult sons with disabilities and Tourette Syndrome, she is director of Program Development at Kansas Children's Service League (KCSL). Karla Maharjan, PA-C has two boys, Charlie age 14 was diagnosed with ASD and ADD at age 3, and Dawson Dickerson (19) a recent high school graduate who now attends Cloud County Community College was diagnosed at age 13.
Registration is now open at greatbendpilotclub.com for online enrollment. Credit cards accepted. Lunch will be provided. Through Pilot club there are some workshop scholarships available inquire at p[email protected].
The workshop is offering one graduate college credit from Baker University and CEUs for educators, social workers, OTs, PTs, SLPs and childcare providers. Registration is required for educational opportunities.
With this workshop we hope to help families and individuals navigate that feeling of being overwhelmed that comes with an autistic household. Pilot and Sunflower Diversified Services hope to help those households navigate the maze by connecting them with relevant resources and information to help meet their challenges.