National Autism Conference Day 2 Overview

What a full day!  Now, this year I came to the conference alone since I was coming as a blogger.  I intended to buy a companion pass for Michael but simply forgot. I’m glad I did since my dancer girl had Nutcracker practice today which meant that a parent needed to drive her.  Something about not being able to drive herself because she was only 12 or something.  Why am  I telling you this?  Because today was a full day.  If you come as a team then each of you can go to a different break out session thus getting twice the value out of the conference.  This also allows you to play to your own strengths.  Michael has a technical mind.  He understands the biomedical sessions far easier than I do.  My brain hurts .  

Featured Speaker : Raun Kaufmann 

Raun Kaufmann is the reason behind the Son-Rise program.  He was the a severely autistic 2 year old whose parents developed a program to help him completely recover from autism.  He is now the Director of Global Education for the Autism Treatment Center and best selling author of the book, Autism Breakthrough: The Groundbreaking Method That Has Helped Families All Over the World.  He delivered hands down the best lecture of any conference that I have ever attended.  Afterwards, he was beyond gracious enough to talk at length with me about the differences between Son-Rise and RDI, which we used with Logan.  He has some innovative ideas that I plan on trying out in the next few weeks.  Red Light/Green Light will be at the top of my list.  This is the session that excited me the most when finished. 

Breakout Session 1 : Dr. Dan Rossignol

Dr. Rossignol spoke more at length about Medical Problems Potentially Contributing to Autism.  I always enjoy his lectures although I could live without the poop pictures.  I love how he started his program with a call to action.  He is also a man who likes to start and end on time.  Remember that if you are ever attending one of his lectures. 

Featured Speaker : Dr. Jeff Bradstreet 

Michael, oh Michael!  Where are you?  Unlike Rossignol, Bradstreet is a tough listen.  He throws out big words and studies.  He always loses me with his information.  The only thing I learned with no translation was that low Vitamin D levels in pregnant moms are a definitive prediction of autism. Mind blown! I managed to take notes though and do some more research on things he was talking about.

Breakout Session 3 : Scott Smith

This session was another medical one.  Can you see why my brain hurts?  I know several people who are struggling with Pandas in the children with autism.  For them, I sat through and took notes of this one.  Scott Smith is a physician’s assistant in Melbourne , Florida who specializes in treating children with autism , specifically with Pandas/Pans.  He was very personable and gracious.  His presentation was really informative and understandable.

That’s it for today.  I managed to snag some gift bags and info for giveaways.  One more day left to learn all I can then I begin the posts about each session.  Woot!