VAC 2012:
Knowledge, Awareness & Understanding – Across the Spectrum
About the Program
VAC 2012 aims to provide practical help, guidance, strategies and experiences that parents, carers, professionals, practitioners, educators and others can take back with them and implement to improve the quality of life of those with an Autism Spectrum Disorder.
The speaker program will provide the chance to listen to some of the top ASD professionals from Australia and overseas and to hear about the practical experiences of those living and working with individuals who are on the spectrum across all age ranges and abilities.
The conference will offer the following 4 streams, click on your preferred stream below to view presentations and meet our speakers:
Delegates can choose to swap between streams or to remain with one stream, whichever is their preference.
The full program can be viewed here – Victorian Autism Conference Speaker Program
This year, VAC2012 introduces a Poster section to the program. Click here for the Poster Program.
Keynote Speakers
| Professor Tony Attwood is a world-renowned ASD expert, specialising in Asperger’s Syndrome and author of the best-selling books, “Asperger’s Syndrome” and “The Complete Guide to Asperger’s Syndrome”.Originally from the UK, Tony moved to Australia in 1985, via New Zealand and continued his research and private practice from his base in Brisbane.Keynote Address Making Friends: Strategies to improve social understanding and friendship skillsI will be explaining the psychological value of friendship throughout childhood, and will outline the four stages of friendship that occur in typical children from the pre-school years to late adolescence.”The differences in abilities and circumstances for children and adolescents with an autism spectrum disorder will be described for each stage. This includes aspects of social cognition, Theory of Mind and motivation for friendship. For each of the four stages of friendship, there will be explanations of abilities, strategies and resources that are relevant for children and adolescents with an ASD. There will also be a brief section on bullying and teasing.”The information will be of value to parents, teachers and psychologists and the strategies can be applied at home and at school. |
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| Carol Gray is best known for developing Social StoriesTMand Comic Strip Conversations strategies, used worldwide to help individuals on the spectrum to understand situations.Carol has a long career working with individuals with ASDs, beginning as a teacher and more recently as a consultant to students with ASD. Carol has been awarded for her international contribution to the education of individuals with an ASD and is based in Michigan, USA.Keynote Address Practically Speaking: The Next Generation of Social Stories™In their twenty-year history, Social Stories™ (and Social Jr. Articles for pre-teens & Social Articles for adolescents and adults) have helped individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) understand and respond more effectively to daily interactions and events. A Social Story™ accurately describes a situation, skill, or concept using a format defined by ten criteria. As an evidence-based practice, Social Stories™ have earned the respect – and the enthusiastic affection – of parents and professionals alike. ”This lively and fast-paced presentation puts what we’ve learned from Social Stories – as well as their ‘cousin’ approach Comic Strip Conversations (CSC) – to work exploring the future of the approach. Participants will learn about exciting new practical applications of Social Stories and CSC within a variety of social contexts (home, school, community, and workplace). In addition, we’ll discuss how Social Stories and CSC will be instrumental in charting new instructional ground; how they will help individuals identify, ‘read’ and interpret and respond effectively to the countless, dynamically relevant social factors that are a part of every interaction and event.”Workshop Objectives At the close of the presentation, each participant will be able to:
This presentation is suitable for anyone working on behalf of individuals of all ages with social-cognitive delays and/or differences. |
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| Sue Larkey is an ASD education expert with a mission to inspire parents and educators to “make it a success”.Sue has been a primary school teacher, special education teacher and teacher of ASD students in mainstream and special schools: she has a Masters in Special Education and is working towards her Doctorate of Education focussing on inclusive education.Keynote Address 10 Essential Strategies for Home & SchoolArmed with the tools of understanding and confidence much can be achieved. This presentation looks at approaches to teaching students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, exploring 10 key strategies to teach students with ASD at home and school. These strategies are based upon Autism Spectrum Learning Style and accommodating this within any setting. The purpose of this presentation is to create positive learning environments for children with ASD so that they can effectively access education, community and family. It will draw upon observations of children with ASD in specialist and local schools, literature written by people with ASD and video footage. This gives us a rich understanding of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders learning style and more importantly the ESSENTIAL STRATEGIES to teaching.This session will give the participant practical strategies to take away and use in any setting. |
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| Jonathan Petty and Family realised some years ago that they were never going to be an ordinary family.As parents Mark and Nicola watched the movie “Rain Man”, portraying a man with autism, it dawned on them that not only was four-year-old Jonathan blind and an accomplished pianist but he also had autism.His older brother William is also a little out of the ordinary, and was recently identified as having ASD. Raising two challenging children has been the cause of reflection for Nicola and Mark over the years, and they have had the opportunity to share their insights and Jonathan’s gifts and talents on television programmes such as 60 Minutes, New Zealand’s Got Talent, and Attitude, on which they travelled to visit the set of Sesame Street in late 2009.Keynote Address Balancing needs, providing security and fitting in with the outside world.In their presentation they will use stories and experiences, photos, video and music to share and develop three key ideas that they have gleaned over their 25 years of being a family. They will talk about negotiating the balance between the individual’s needs and the needs of the family, the need to provide security but to challenge and the desire to help their child fit into the outside world while loving and celebrating him as he is.The Petty’s are from Christchurch, New Zealand. Nicola has a PhD related to special education provision and is a highly esteemed teacher of statistics at the University of Canterbury. She is co-inventor of the puzzle Rogo, which is also an iPhone app. Mark works as a land-surveyor and is currently the primary caregiver for Jonathan.Mark, Nicola and Jonathan are experienced in sharing their story in ways that uplift, entertain and inspire. |
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