Professionals and parents working together
by Beth
I swear, sometimes our Easter Seals National Director of Autism Services is just too humble. Patricia Wright wrote a post last week about being at an autism conference in Montana, but what she failed to mention was that she gave the keynote address! And not only that, she was featured in a story about the conference on ABC’s KTVQ News in Billings.
The KQTV story highlighted how The 8th Annual At-Risk Conference: Technology in Action focused on ways people with autism can use technology to enhance their quality of life. The conference provided hands-on training, in addition to informational sessions.
After learning that Patricia had given the keynote, I took a closer look at the conference web site. Imagine my delight to find three different staff members from Easter Seals Goodwill Northern Rocky Mountain listed on the conference planning committee: Paula H. Kitzenberg, Kelly Melius, and Sharon Weatherwax-Ripley. And then, just as cool to see the credentials of two other conference planners :
Laura Simonsen
Brandon’s MomMarlene Hauck
Jared’s Mom
All the other conference planners had letters like “MSW” or “MPH” after their names — it was downright refreshing to see “MOMs” listed with equal importance. I have a feeling their input was a great help in making this conference a success.
And so, okay, Dr. Wright may have never told me anything about her keynote or the TV story, but she did alert me to something about the Montana conference that was dear to her heart. “I love going to Montana,” she told me. “Especially since this was one of those autism conferences put together by, and attended by, both professionals and parents interested in learning more about autism.