Emily Rubin, MS, CCC-SLP is the Director of the Educational Outreach Program at the Marcus Autism Center, an academic affiliate of Emory University and an NIH Autism Center of Excellence.  She has served as a member of an American Speech-Language-Hearing Association’s Ad Hoc Committee on Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), a committee charged with developing guidelines related to the role of speech-language pathologists in the diagnosis, assessment, and treatment of ASD.  As a co-author of the SCERTS Model, she lectures internationally both in-person and through distance learning.  Currently, the focus of her work is on supporting community-based educational systems to build internal capacity for supporting social emotional engagement and social emotional learning competencies within classroom lessons.

DATE: Thursday 30^th August 2018
TIME: 10.00am – 10.45am
DATE: Friday 31^st August 2018
TIME: 11.45am – 12.15pm

Suzanne Carrington is a Professor and Assistant Dean (Research) in the Faculty of Education, Queensland University of Technology (QUT), Australia. Suzanne’s areas of expertise are in inclusive education, disability and teacher preparation for inclusive schools. She has engaged in research to inform policy and practice in Australian and international education contexts, more recently extending this research to the South Pacific and Asia. She has broad knowledge of education research, and her publication list provides evidence of extensive collaboration with education, health and medical research. Her publications are available eprints.qut.edu.au/view/person/Carrington,_Suzanne.html

Suzanne is currently the Program Director of Program 2: Enhancing Learning and Teaching for The Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC). This is the world’s first cooperative research Centre focused on autism across the lifespan. www.autismcrc.com.au.

DATE: Thursday 30^th August 2018
TIME: 11.15am-11.55am

Dr Tom Tutton started work for the severe challenging behaviour team in the UK in 1997 working closely with students on the spectrum to maintain home and school placements. Subsequently, after 3 years completing a clinical psychology degree at Southampton University and more than 10 years supporting people on the spectrum in classrooms, schools, family homes and communities through direct service, training and research, he has never wanted to do anything else. Tom has spoken at Asia Pacific Autism Conferences, the Autism Congress in Singapore 2017 and the Association of Positive Behaviour Support conference in Denver 2017. Tom is currently starting 3 years of research into the implementation of PBS in Aspect schools and staff attitudes to discipline and behaviour.

DATE: Friday 31^st August 2018
TIME:11.00am – 11.40am

Liz Pellicano has recently been appointed Professor in Educational Studies at Macquarie University, having previously been Professor of Autism Education at University College London. An internationally-regarded experimental psychologist, she is also committed to understanding the distinctive opportunities and challenges faced by autistic children, young people and adults and tracing their impact on everyday life – at home, at school and out-and-about in the community. She has been consistently dedicated both to ensuring that the outcomes of her research are as influential as possible in education policy-making and to enhancing public understanding of autism, its challenges and opportunities.

DATE: Thursday 30^th August 2018
TIME: 12.00pm-12.30pm
DATE: Friday 31^st August 2018
TIME: 2.50pm-3.30pm

Randa Habelrih is an international award winning speaker, author, autism advocate and mother of a child with autism.

Her work has been recognised internationally, having won Gold in the ‘Women Helping Women’ category and Silver for ‘Best New Product or Service’ for MATES in the 2017 International Women in Business Stevie Awards.

Initially side tracked by the corporate world, autism changed the trajectory of her life.

The experience of raising her son in a world that wasn’t ready to embrace his differences sparked in her a passion to help others understand the needs of children, parents and teachers dealing with autism.

After a heartbreaking bullying incident at school, she chose to speak directly to her son’s peers and created a YouTube video. This received a huge response, which encouraged her to write a book and create a proactive solution under the MATES banner.

The MATES programmes were created based on the premise that we all crave a sense of belonging and need to be connected socially.

MATES is an acronym for Mates Assisting To Engage Socially. Leaders2MATES, the flagship programme, is a peer led, social inclusion and leadership initiative for high schools.

The MATES projects include:

• ModelMATES
• Leaders2MATES
• MATES4Monday
• BestMATES

Randa is passionate about changing the standards of social inclusion of our young people on the spectrum but she is most proud of the fact that her son, who she was told would never talk, is now advocating for himself and his peers, and is a sought after keynote speaker.

DATE: Friday 31^st August 2018
TIME: 3.30pm – 3.50pm

Richard Habelrih is 21 years old; he lives in Sydney with his family and is on the autism spectrum.

Despite a poor prognosis, Richard has achieved beyond what was imagined by professionals. His parents were told he would never speak or walk and were discouraged from having any hope for him. Richard has overcome huge obstacles and today is an inspiring and resilient young man, intent on living life to the fullest and making a difference in the lives of others.

Today he is a public speaker, accepting invitations to speak at various events and schools. His love of public speaking began in 2015 when he received a standing ovation for his speech from Prof. Marie Bashir and The NSW Minister for Disability at the launch of the book “Dealing With Autism”.

Past speaking engagements include:

• Autism in Education Conference, Melbourne
• Lifestart Conference
• Holdsworth Gala Fundraiser
• Book Launches
• Autism and Me Event
• He regularly speaks at schools, sharing his journey and experiences with autism
• Co-creator and star of Best MATES Puppet show

Richard is also a model for the Model MATES events and has an agent for acting roles.

Richard has hopes and dreams just like everyone else. His big goal is to become independent and employed as an actor, model and speaker. He also wants to help educate society on what it is like living with autism. He is currently working towards achieving these goals.

DATE: Friday 31^st August 2018
TIME: 3.30pm – 3.50pm

Natalie Silove is a Clinical Associate Professor in the Discipline of Paediatrics and Child Health, University of Sydney and Senior Lecturer (Conjoint) at the School of Psychiatry (UNSW). Her research career includes being Co investigator on numerous NHMRC grants with a focus on autism spectrum disorders and ADHD. Natalie has a particular interest in research for medical interventions relating to rarer genetic disorders e.g and Fragile X. Natalie is primarily a Clinician and is Head of Child Development Unit at The Children’s Hospital Westmead; She has over 20 years experience working with children and young adults with special needs, their families and schools. She is a strong advocate for collaboration on an individual and organizational level and focuses on making intervention and supports meaningful and evidence based. To this end Natalie is on the executive committee of many leading organizations integral to maximizing the potential of individuals living with a disability including the Agency for Clinical Innovation (ACI). One of the highlights of her career was being part of the establishment of the Centre for Effective Reading, collaboration between The NSW Ministry of Health and Department of Education.  It is the adults and professional bodies’ utmost responsibility to maximize the students educational and personal potential while they are in our care, and that demands respectful, meaningful and timeous collaborations.

DATE: Thursday 30^th August 2018
TIME: 12.30pm – 1.00pm

Dr Emma Goodall is a passionate educator and autistic advocate. On the board of the Autistic Self Advocacy Network Australia, New Zealand and Oceania she is also on the executive of the Australian Society for Autism Research and a visiting fellow at the University of Wollongong and when not writing books, journal articles or researching, Emma works in the South Australian education system as their Senior Autism Adviser. Emma’s drive comes from a belief that individual autistics need opportunities and understanding in order to achieve their potential and to live happy and meaningful lives.

DATE: Thursday 30^th August 2018
TIME: 12.00pm – 12.30pm

Jeanette Purkis is an autistic advocate. She is passionate about making positive change for autistic people and those who love and support them. She has written four published books on elements of autism and is a regular blogger. Jeanette is a prolific public speaker and has presented for TEDx Canberra in 2013 and as a keynote speaker at a number of events including the 2017 Asia Pacific Autism Conference and the Autism@Work conference. She speaks on many topics including autism and mental health, resilience and employment. Jeanette has worked in the Australian Public Service since 2007. She has facilitated a support group for autistic women in Canberra since 2011 and hosts a regular online radio program for UK advocacy organisation Positively Autistic. She is also a guest presenter on the Canberra Radio 2CC Talking Disability program. Jeanette is highly visible in the autism community. She was named the 2016 ACT Volunteer of the Year and a finalist in the 2017 ACT Woman of the Year award. She was a finalist in the Institute of Managers and Leaders Leadership Excellence awards in 2016 and 2017. Jeanette featured in the 2010 ABC documentary Alone in a Crowded Room. She lives in Canberra with her little black cat, Mr Kitty.

DATE: Thursday 30^th August 2018
TIME: 12.00pm – 12.30pm

Dr Beth Saggers originally trained as a primary and special education teacher. During her thirty years of teaching experience she has worked across all educational age groups in a diverse range of educational contexts. A focus of her teaching has always been developing supportive educational environments for students on the autism spectrum (ASD) and for many years she worked across a range of educational contexts as an Advisory Teacher for ASD. As a result, much of her experience lies with working to support success for staff, parents and students with ASD of all ages within inclusive settings. While a key focus is best practices for supporting students with ASD in schools, she also has a particular interest in:

• supporting social emotional wellbeing and positive mental health
• working with students with challenging and complex needs
• providing supportive learning environments for ALL students, and
• Supporting education stakeholders to implement best practices

Beth is currently an active research participant in the Cooperative Research Centre for Living with Autism (Autism CRC) which is the world’s first national cooperative research centre focused on autism and takes a whole-of-life approach to autism focusing on diagnosis, education and adult life.

DATE: Thursday 30^th August 2018
TIME:12.30pm – 1.00pm

Dr Wendi Beamish lectures in special needs education at Griffith University, and has a strong practitioner background in special education and early childhood intervention. Her research interests focus on teacher practice in the areas of education transitions, behavioural support, social-emotional competence, early intervention, and inclusive schooling. To date, Wendi has over 60 publications, many in the area of autism. She is the lead researcher of the Early Years Stream within the ACRC Transition Models of Practice Research Project.

DATE: Thursday 30^th August 2018
TIME: 12.00pm – 12.30pm

Dr Trevor Clark is a special educator, researcher and author with a comprehensive experience and knowledge of educational programs, service provision and research related to the education of students on the autism spectrum; his career in autism spans 3 decades and 3 countries – New Zealand, England and Australia.  He completed his PhD in autism at the University of New South Wales in 2001 which involved a curriculum designed to make functional use of savant and splinter skills in children on the autism spectrum.  He is currently responsible for the Aspect Research Program which is currently involved in 29 research and evaluation projects, and which includes 17 Autism Cooperative Research Centre (CRC) for studies. He is also the Senior Education Consultant to the Aspect schools program (8 schools, 117 satellite classes with student enrolment of 1068 students). He presents nationally and internationally on education and research in autism. Trevor is the co-author of A Practical Guide for Teachers of Students with an Autism Spectrum Disorder in Secondary Education and has a new book published in 2016 by Routledge UK based on his PhD thesis – Exploring Giftedness and Autism – study of a differentiated program for autistic savants.

DATE: Thursday 30^th August 2018
TIME: 12.00pm – 12.30pm

DATE: Friday 31^st August 2018
TIME: 11.45am – 12.15pm

Dr Matt Capp, EdD, is a Senior Education Officer: Inclusive Education at Brisbane Catholic Education and visiting academic at universities across South-East Queensland.  His areas of research interest are Universal Design for learning, professional learning communities, and effective use of teacher aides.  Matt has presented at numerous conferences, workshops, and schools across Australia focussing on the practical application of educational research within classroom contexts.  During his free time Matt likes to spend time with his wife and son, read, watch movies, travel, and exercise.

DATE: Thursday 30^th August 2018
TIME: 12.30pm – 1.00pm

Professor Valsamma Eapen MBBS., FRCPsych., FRANZCP., PhD

After graduating in Medicine, Prof. Eapen completed her clinical postgraduate training in Child Psychiatry through the Great Ormond Street Hospital Training Scheme, London, and PhD research at the National Hospital for Neurology & Neurosurgery, Queen Square, London. Her academic career began at the University College London, UK, and then moved to the UAE University, before taking up her current position as Professor & Chair, Infant, Child and Adolescent Psychiatry at the University of New South Wales, and Head of the Academic Unit of Child Psychiatry South West Sydney (AUCS), Liverpool hospital, Sydney, Australia. She is internationally known for her expertise in neurodevelopmental disorders including Tourette Syndrome and autism and has authored over 200 scientific publications including five books, several book chapters and peer reviewed journal articles. She is a member of several international consortiums including Obsessive Compulsive Foundation Genetics Collaborative, Homozygosity Mapping Collaborative for Autism and Psychiatric Genomics Consortium (PGC). She is involved in research covering genetics and neurocognitive pathways to clinical diagnosis and management. She is part of several collaborative grants with over 30 million Australian dollars in funding including from National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) and Australian Research Council (ARC), and is a Program Director for the Autism CRC which is the world’s first national Co-operative Research Centre focused on autism.

DATE: Friday 31^st August 2018
TIME: 12.15pm – 12.45pm

Dr Jill Ashburner’s career in the disability sector has spanned 40 years, including a number of senior occupational therapy positions. As Manager Research and Development at Autism Queensland since 2007, her research has focused on the education of students on the autism spectrum, professional development of clinicians working in the autism field, bullying, written expression, and telehealth.  She has led Autism CRC projects on written expression, structured teaching, an evaluation of a post-school transition program, and goal-setting for adults and adolescents on the spectrum.  Jill has a longstanding interest in the sensory processing issues of people on the autism spectrum. Her doctoral study explored the relationship between the sensory processing issues of children with ASD and their classroom behavioural, emotional and educational outcomes.  She has also published articles on (a) an evidence-informed framework to guide clinical reasoning for children on the spectrum experiencing sensory challenges, (b) a survey of occupational therapy practices for people with autism, and (c) a qualitative study exploring the sensory experiences of young people in the spectrum. She is currently conducting research on the development of My Sensory Experiences, a tool which utilises photographic representations of sensory experiences in everyday contexts (e.g., classrooms, supermarkets), combined with open-ended questions to assist young people in describing their sensory experiences. Jill is also conducting a detailed analysis of the responses of parents and teachers in relation to sensory issues of students with ASD at school from the Autism CRC nationwide survey, the ASD: Educational Needs Analysis.

DATE: Friday 31^st August 2018
TIME:11.45am – 12.15pm

Mathew Townsend is a disability advocate, adventurer, environmentalist and sustainability champion. He is currently developing a social enterprise business, Nature Freedom with passionate and talented young people who introduces and connect young people with disabilities and mental health to bush regeneration, adventurous conservation projects and leadership development. He has spoken at previous AIE ASPECT conferences in 2014 and 2016, and at APAC17. Mathew is a public speaker and innovator in discovering sustainable, inclusive and accessible community development. He recently attended and presented his ideas at the Global Greens Congress at Liverpool, UK in 2017, and as well with local public forums in Brisbane. He is passionate bringing communities together being socially inclusive and accessible for all abilities connecting with nature and community events. In 2017 he was a Young Social Pioneer with Foundation for Young Australians program on developing social entrepreneurship, which developed Nature Freedom today. He is currently a co-coordinator of local young adult’s Landcare group, Brisbane Intrepid Landcare. His visions improving sustainability, inclusion and accessibility of our communities where it helps to improve the lifestyles of diverse populations. He lives in South Brisbane independently.

DATE: Friday 31^st August 2018
TIME: 12.15pm – 12.45pm

James Cifuentes began working for The I CAN Network in 2017 as the Qld Mentor for three pilot school programs mentoring autistic students.  James is himself autistic and brings a lifetime of experience in managing and embracing his autistic traits. He mentors at schools, at camps and delivers talks to teachers, parents and community groups.

James’ background is in Science, with an Honours Degree in Entomology. He put himself through his degree working as a tutor and a tour guide, using his innate ability to relate difficult scientific concepts in clear and often humorous ways to his students and customers. James brings this love of science and education to his mentoring role and leverages the fascination many young people on the spectrum have with science to form strong connections with his mentees.

James has a passion for helping others. He did not graduate High School due to difficulties negotiating the often cold education system and as a result, led a very sheltered, isolated life in his early twenties. To get his degree he had to overcome strong social anxiety and attain his grade 12 equivalence before moving on to study science full time at Griffith University where the staff and fellow students enabled him to flourish. James is now driven by a strong desire to prevent other young people falling through the cracks and to see all autistic people find an environment that allows them to reach their fullest potential and be able to contribute to the world.

DATE: Friday 31^st August 2018
TIME:12.15pm – 12.45pm

Bella Ellis is 16 years old and is from Brisbane.  This year Bella is combining her school studies with TAFE.  She is currently studying Year 10 at an all-girls school which she attends 4 days per week and on the other day she is studying a Certificate 3 in Business and a Certificate 2 in Tourism.

When Bella was very young doctors predicted she may never speak and as a toddler she communicated using sign language and picture symbols.  Bella has overcome some of her language difficulties and now enjoys singing in the school choir and performing in her school drama club.  Bella is developing the ability to be an advocate for herself at school and is slowly developing the confidence to share with her teachers the different strategies which assist her to learn and to demonstrate her knowledge. Bella thinks that a lot of her progress and successes are due to a strong collaborative network which supports her.

Bella likes playing with her dog, listening to music and travelling.

Edward Lee is 19 years old, from the Far North Coast of New South Wales and is on the Autism Spectrum. He recently completed his Higher School Certificate (HSC) in 2017, and is currently undertaking a traineeship at his former high school. He attended an Aspect Satellite Class for three years, before transitioning back into mainstream primary school for Years 5 and 6, in readiness for his education at a mainstream high school.

Edward had difficulties throughout his school years, particularly with schoolwork and social situations. To overcome these obstacles, Edward shifted his focus to concentrate on his strengths rather than his weaknesses. He found success in sport, music, and the performing arts. All of his progress in these areas would not have been possible without the constant assistance of the teachers and support staff at his high school.

Since graduating from high school, he has sought opportunities to assist other students with additional needs and hopes to continue future studies in this area.

Edward enjoys surfing, studying meteorology, basketball, playing music, being involved in drama performances and musical productions.

DATE: Thursday 30^th August 2018
TIME: 9.30am-10.00am

Hayden Leahy  is 14 years old and was born in Sydney. Two years after he was born his mum was transferred and the family moved to Brisbane. Hayden’s family members are his mother, brother Tristan (8), sister Monique (6), and dog Gareth.

He was diagnosed with Autism during second grade.  He attended 3 different schools and was bullied constantly for being “different”. Now he is dual schooled, attending the Autism Queensland (AQ) school and a distance education school. It’s been 2 years since starting at AQ and he has been making a lot of progress and has FRIENDS.

Hayden likes to draw things with lots of detail and notices things others have trouble seeing. He does struggle in public places as there are too many unknowns which make him anxious.

DATE: Thursday 30^th August 2018
TIME: 9.30am-10.00am