Judith Canty Graves and Carson Graves, authors of Parents Have The Power To Make Special Education Work: An Insider Guide, share their experience at the 2014 45th National Autism Conference in Indianapolis, IN, USA (July 23-26, 2014).
“The National Autism Conference in Indianapolis was an exciting event for us. We were pleased to have our book be among 
the ones displayed at the Jessica Kingsley Publishers booth in the Exhibit Hall. We want to thank Stephanie DeMuzio of JKP Sales and Marketing for arranging a book signing for us on July 24. We met many wonderful parents and educators who stopped by to speak with us about special education.
The National Autism Society, located in Bethesda, Maryland, organized this conference and approximately 1,000 people attended from all over the country. Dr. Temple Grandin, keynote speaker, gave a dynamic speech entitled ‘The Autistic Brain.’ She spoke about the challenges she has faced in her life and how she overcame them with the help of her mother. She also discussed the importance of transition planning for young adults with autism and how communities need to help them succeed in the work force in order to be productive adults.
There were many interesting presentations on a wide variety of topics. One of the most impressive was given by fellow JKP author Jennifer Cook O’Toole, the Asperkids series, whose session was titled ‘See-through Eggshells and Chalk on the Trampoline: Building Extraordinary People Through Ordinary Stuff.’ Jennifer is a talented and charismatic speaker, overflowing with ideas for developing the interests, curiosity, and sense of fun in children and teens with Asperger’s Syndrome. She offered wise advice to parents and teachers so that they could better understand how others think, especially children. Her presentation was inspiring!
Meeting her and hearing her talk was a conference highlight for us.
We are pleased that we were able to participate in this exciting conference and to meet interesting people from all over the country.”
For more information on or to purchase a copy of Parents Have the Power to Make Special Education Work: An Insider Guide, please visit our website.
For more infomation on the Asperkids series or to purchase, please visit our website.