April 29, 2016 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Pulitzer Prize Winner, Ron Suskind, To Speak About His Son Owen, Disney, and Autism
4 Leading Experts Highlight “Autism Tomorrow” Conference At Anderson Center for Autism
On May 14, 2016, Anderson Center for Autism will host its third annual conference “Autism Tomorrow,” on their Staatsburg, NY campus. It is an opportunity for parents, special needs individuals and caregivers and the public to mix freely with conference attendees and tour the extensively renovated Anderson Center campus. The day’s activities include a musical performance by the Children’s Program, Box Lunch, and a Vendor Fair. Occupational Therapy professionals can accrue CLE credits for attendance. Attendees can register online at: https://www.andersoncenterforautism.org/autismtomorrow
Autism Tomorrow Speakers Present Breakthrough Ideas and Therapies
Ron Suskind, Pulitzer Prize Winner and Best Selling Author
As a reporter and senior national affairs writer for The Wall Street Journal, Ron has written front-page investigative features on poverty, race and class in America, which won him a Pulitzer Prize. Ron is an acclaimed speaker and the author of six best-selling books, including Life, Animated, A Story of Sidekicks, Heroes and Autism, which documents his family’s two-decade struggle with regressive autism. Using a technique called Affinity Therapy, the book recounts how the Suskinds broke through to their autistic son Owen by exposing him to Disney movies, which Owen memorized and used as a pathway to communication.
Federico Bolognani, Neuroscience Drug Development Physician, Roche Pharmaceuticals
Dr. Federico Bolognani received his Medical Doctor (MD) degree in 1997 from the National University of La Plata in Argentina, as well as a PhD from the same institution. For the last 7 years he has been living in Basel, Switzerland working in pharmaceutical research. Currently, he is developing new medicines for Neurodevelopment Disorders such as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). He is leading genetic and experimental medicine studies using functional imaging to address how investigational medicines modulate the activity of the social brain and how genetic factors may affect these responses. Moreover, he is leading Phase II trials testing whether new experimental medicines may improve behaviors in the social and communication domains in ASD subjects.
Nathan Briggs, Coordinator of Adult Residential Services, Anderson Center for Autism
Nathan began his professional career by enlisting in the Air National Guard in order to finance completing his college degree to teach secondary English. Nathan’s time in the Guard, spanning the bombing of the USS Cole, the attacks of 9/11, and the subsequent invasion of Iraq, was marked with numerous awards, promotions, and commendations. The career of service that he was after, though, didn’t truly begin until 2006 when he joined Anderson Center for Autism. Guiding a team of ten adults for almost nine years while helping to create, modify, apply, and analyze curriculum, Nathan was finally able to fulfill his lifelong commitment to service. In his current position with Anderson, Nathan has taken opportunities to implement new ideas, create new systems, and analyze functions to optimize quality of life for adults living on the spectrum.
Kristie Patten Koenig, Ph.D., OT/L, FAOTA, Associate Professor and Chair, New York University
Dr. Koenig examines the efficacy of interventions utilized in public schools for children and adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorders. Dr. Koenig is the Principal Investigator of the NYU Steinhardt’s ASD Nest Program, an inclusive program for children and adolescents with autism in the New York City Department of Education. She is also PI of the GIFTED project, a 3-year grant project aimed at developing women leaders in public schools in Ghana. Dr. Koenig teaches professional and post professional courses in the area of pediatric intervention, school-based practice and sensory processing and regulation. Dr. Koenig has published and presented nationally and internationally on topics related to examining the efficacy of sensory and motor interventions that impact one’s ability to regulate behavior in home and community environments.
Registration for Autism Tomorrow is now open and is $75 per person.
Online registration: https://www.andersoncenterforautism.org/autismtomorrow
