Hundreds learn cutting-edge research at UVU’s Autism Conference
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- Behavioral consultant Greg Hanley speaks to attendees at the Autism Conference on Friday, March 7, 2025, at Utah Valley University in Orem.
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- UVU mental health therapist David Top speaks at the Autism Conference on Friday, March 7, 2025, at Utah Valley University in Orem.
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- The Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism at Utah Valley University.
Karen Fairchild remembers there were limited resources available to provide help when she was raising three children with autism.
Few — if any — individuals near her home in Utah County knew more about the disorder than she did as a mother, and she often felt overwhelmed.
In recent years, though, Fairchild, a therapist whose kids are now all in adulthood, has seen a transformation in the help available.
“Now there’s just so much more,” said the Orem resident and member of the Autism Resources of Utah County Council. “And the cool thing is, you’ve got educators and other professionals learning about it…. Now there’s such a support network for families and individuals with autism.”
An example of the growing support is the Autism Conference, an annual event hosted by Utah Valley University’s Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism.
In its 14th year, the two-day conference held Thursday and Friday at UVU in Orem provided a road map for autistic adults, families, educators and professionals to navigate the disorder.
“Probably 14 years ago, there wasn’t anything like this in the state,” said UVU Center for Autism Director Laurie Bowen. “And now it’s the largest conference on autism in the region, and the fact that we sold out 14 years in shows that need is still continuing and that people are anxious to find out how to support and that this is the place they can come and get that information.”
People from more than 30 school districts and academies and 20-plus applied behavioral analysis centers were in attendance, taking in a variety of workshops and lectures that used new research to train attendees on the complex challenges of the disorder.
Renowned researchers Greg Hanley and Erik Carter took part in the conference, with Hanley teaching a two-day workshop on addressing problem behaviors.
“We used to use kind of a harsh behavioral method, and now they’ve moved more towards a compassionate, individualized, relationship-based-type approach to manage really difficult behavior,” Fairchild said.
Carter was the keynote speaker Friday morning and discussed how individuals with autism can flourish if they feel accepted and included by their peers.
The overarching theme of the conference was “Protective Factors,” teaching how to take proactive approaches to help individuals with autism succeed.
“I’m hoping (the attendees) are getting the most innovative and up-to-date information available, and it’s hands-on tools that they can immediately go and apply in their classrooms, with their families and with the people they’re serving,” Bowen said.
The Melisa Nellesen Center for Autism uses the conference as a basis for what it teaches in a graduate-level program for board-certified behavior analysts and an undergraduate autism studies minor.
“UVU is very supportive of autism and has been for the last 14 years,” Bowen said.
For those not studying the disorder, though, there’s still ways to help.
In Fairchild’s experience, the best way for individuals to support people with autism is to keep an open mind and allow them into their lives.
“I think we need more and more people willing to hire them, their neighbors and church congregations being able to include them, invite them, accept them,” she said. “Learn about each individual person because they’re all so different from each other. Sometimes people think they know autism when they only know one person with autism but realize that each of those adults or kids is very, very unique from each other, and just be open to who they really are and what they get excited about.”
