By Alison Singer
On behalf of everyone at the Autism Science Foundation, I would like to extend a heartfelt THANK YOU to everyone who took part in our incredible Day of Learning on March 30.
After two difficult pandemic years, it was truly soul-affirming to see so many people gathered together in support of the autism community, both in-person in New York and online from across the globe.
The day was filled with engaging speakers, inspiring award-winners and even a touching musical performance by self-advocate Tom Bak, who movingly closed out the show with his guitar.
Videos of all our Day of Learning talks are now available online for free on our YouTube page. The full playlist can be accessed here.
I am tremendously grateful to all of our distinguished speakers, who thoughtfully shed light on the most critical issues in the autism community. Here is the full list of our speakers and topics, with links to their individual videos:
- Dr. Susan Daniels, Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee: “Shaping New Federal Priorities for Autism Research, Services and Policy”
- Dr. Matthew Maenner, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: “Behind the Numbers: What Do the New CDC Autism Data Mean?”
- Dr. Brigitta Gundersen, Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative: “Understanding the Biological Bases for Sex Differences in ASD: Novel Research Approaches”
- Dr. Amy Wetherby, Autism Institute, Florida State University: “Using Mobile Technology to Help Families Detect Autism Earlier and Improve Outcomes”
- Dr. Zoë Hawks, Harvard Medical School: “Measuring the Impact of Leisure Activities on Quality of Life in Autism: What Do the Data Show?”
- Richard Spurling, ACEing Autism: “Building Skills Through Tennis”
- Tom Bak, College Student and Musician: “How Music Has Enriched My Life”
I would also like to once again congratulate our worthy award winners: the late Suzanne Wright and Samantha Els. I am truly grateful to the Wright and Els families for attending the event and further demonstrating their incredible support for people and families impacted by autism.
I was also proud to announce that ASF has renamed our Research Accelerator Grants to the ‘Suzanne Wright Memorial Accelerator Grants’ in honor of this incredible advocate, who was all about urgency, inclusion and wanting answers immediately. Stay tuned for this RFA to be released later this month.
Thank you again to everyone who participated in this great event. We are already looking forward to seeing everyone next year!
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