The Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism, the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the School of Education at Utah Valley University will host the 11th annual Autism Conference on Friday.

The conference will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Sorensen Student Center at the main UVU campus in Orem.

The focus of this year’s conference will be autism in adults with the theme “Cultivating Competencies Across the Community.” Amy Gravino, a relationship coach in the Center for Adult Autism Services at Rutgers University and autism sexuality advocate, will give the keynote address.

“Autism is a lifelong disability, yet the focus is often on children,” Laurie Bowen, associate director for the Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism, said in a press release. “We are honored to start our conference with the expertise and personal experience of Amy Gravino. She is an excellent speaker and will provide perspective and insights on adulthood with autism, ways to foster interdependence and build future plans for autistic children and clients.”

Gravino’s lecture is entitled “Entering Into Adulthood with Autism.” She will discuss the portrayal of autism within media and pop culture, as well as the idea of autism within the medical community, where autism is viewed as something that only affects children.

“Her lecture will interweave the limited knowledge on autism in adulthood with one young woman’s personal story, and the journey her parents and she embarked on after she received the diagnosis of autism at age 11,” read a press release distributed by UVU.

This conference will address adults on the spectrum and their families, students, educators, professionals, and service providers as well as support vendors. Attendees have the option to experience this event in person or virtually.

“Research indicates that when people feel like they belong they thrive in their communities,” Bowen said. “Not only does the Autism Conference provide an opportunity for individuals, parents, and professionals to come together, hear personal perspectives, learn hands-on, best practice techniques and ways to best support autism, but through the conference, we seek to increase belonging and understanding for autism on our campus and in our community.”

A pre-conference workshop will be held on Thursday featuring Mark Dixon, a clinical professor in the Department of Disability and Human Development at the University of Illinois Chicago. He will discuss the PEAK Relational Training System he created, which is a curriculum guide for teaching basic and advanced language skills. This workshop will take place from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Sorensen Student Center.

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