press release
OAR Announces Its Fifth Annual Applied Autism Research and Intervention Conference
Arlington, VA - On Friday, October 26, and Saturday, October 27, the Organization for Autism Research (OAR) will host its Fifth Annual Applied Autism Research and Intervention Conference at the Westin Arlington Gateway in Arlington, VA. It will feature presentations by some of the field’s leading authors, researchers and practitioners.
Due to the success of last year’s Conference, which sold out of all 250 available seats, OAR has selected a new venue. The Westin will accommodate up to 340 people, allowing even more parents, family members, teachers, and professionals the chance to meet and find support in those around them.
The keynote speakers are Ray Romanczyk, Ph.D., Michael Fabrizio, M.A., and Stephen Shore, with many more presenters to follow. In highlighting current research and its applications, conference topics will include transition planning as well as practical approaches to educate children with autism. Lunch will be provided on both days.
Attendees will choose between speakers on two tracks offered each day. BCBA and ASHA CEUs will be available for many of these sessions. Time will be given for attendees to question presenters as well as discuss conference topics and related concerns. In addition, Friday will feature a “Meet the Speakers” Reception directly following the closing keynote speaker.
This conference is part of a three-day schedule of events culminating on October 28, 2007 with OAR’s annual RUN FOR AUTISM, held in conjunction with the Marine Corps Marathon™. In preparation for the weekend’s events, the hotel is providing a block of rooms at a discounted rate for out-of-town attendees. Registration fees are $50/one day to $90/both days before September 25.
According to OAR President Peter Gerhardt, the Conference fits well into OAR’s mission. “Quite simply, professionals in the field have an ethical obligation to our students, adult clients, families and funding sources to provide treatment and intervention that is most likely to be effective. How do we know what is most likely to be effective? By doing the research, announcing the outcomes at events such as our Applied Autism Research and Intervention Conference, and then translating these findings into what we practice. Individual learners with autism and their families deserve nothing less.”
To see the complete schedule or for more information, please visit OAR’s Web site, www.researchautism.org, or contact Alyssa Napolitano, Research and Programs Associate, at 703-243-9717.
About OAR:
The Organization for Autism Research (OAR) is a national, nonprofit organization formed and led by relatives of children and adults with autism and Asperger Syndrome. OAR is dedicated to promoting research that can be applied to help families, educators, caregivers, and individuals with autism find much-needed answers to their immediate and urgent questions. Committed to the excellence in its services to the autism community, OAR seeks to fund applied research that will make a difference in individual lives; provide information that is timely, useful, and cost-efficient; and offer opportunities for the autism community to collaborate and make advances together.
In its first five years, OAR has awarded more than $1,000,000 for applied research studies and published four community-friendly resource guides in its Life Journey through Autism guide series: A Parent’s Guide to Research, An Educator’s Guide to Autism, An Educator’s Guide to Asperger Syndrome, and A Guide for Transition to Adulthood. In June 2006, OAR hosted the first in what will be a biennial series of Autism Research Convocations, two-day, by invitation structured workshops that focus on topics of great research need. The theme of the first Convocation was Evidence-based Interventions for Adolescents and Adults with Autism. The meeting completed the first phase in a process that will produce a Proceedings and a 10-year research plan on the main topic in early 2007.
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