Autism Summit Update from the Autism Society President

September 6, 2012
By Scott Badesch, Autism Society President

Did you miss our previous Autism Summit updates?  Please read the first and second.

Since returning from the Autism Society 43rd annual conference, I have been meeting with leaders of various national autism groups, including those involved in research, service delivery, advocacy, and, of course, representatives of self-advocacy organizations, to seek their involvement in an Autism Summit. We now have a national steering committee tasked with defining an agenda and finalizing the schedule for the Summit.

I have to admit that what I originally thought would be an easy task has its challenges. Many supported this concept after an initial announcement; others had strong concerns that the Autism Society might be omitting important people in this process. In fact, we firmly believe this effort has to be inclusive.   The Autism Society firmly believes the summit will not be a success unless people representing all facets of the autism community, especially self-advocates, have a seat at the table.

The Autism Summit  is about our community coming together, accepting our differences, agreeing to set them aside and determining how, as a community, we can move forward like never before and agree to disagree on some items, but to agree on how we, as a community, can move forward.  Above all, it is about wanting people with developmental disabilities to have an equal opportunity in all aspects of their lives. It is about assuring that the autism community has a seat at the table when issues impacting our community are discussed so our collective voice is heard and respected.  It is about results.