AUTISM NETWORK INTERNATIONAL
Presents
Autreat 2011
Living Life the Autly Way8-12 August, 2011
4 p.m. Monday to 1 p.m. Friday
What is Autreat?
Program, schedule and information on workshops
Fee information
Registration form (MS Word)
Continuing Education Units
A special note about social interactions
Funding
Transportation to the campus
Child care
Ongoing Autreat updates and discussion online group
Policies
What is Autreat?
Autreat is a retreat-style conference run by autistic people, for autistic people and our friends.Autreat focuses on positive living with autism, NOT on causes, cures, or ways to make us more normal.
How Autreat is different from typical autism conferences
Typical autism conferences are about autistic people, but are primarily for the benefit of researchers, service providers, or families. Autreat is an opportunity for autistic people and those with related developmental differences, our friends, and supporters to come together, discover and explore autistic connections, and develop advocacy skills, all in an autistic-friendly environment. Family members and professionals are welcome to attend, but the structure and content of this event are determined by the interests and sensibilities of autistic people.Things you will not find at Autreat:
- Crowded, noisy hotel or conference center
- Exhausting, intensive schedule
- Inescapable sensory bombardment
- Pressure to interact if you don't want to
- Focus on "celebrities"
- Focus on causes, cures, or ways to make us more normal
Things you will find at Autreat:
- Small college campus with plenty of outdoor space to get away and be alone or with friends.
- Smoke-free, perfume-free environment
- Opportunity to explore autistic social contacts, if desired
- Respect for the choice to be left alone, if preferred
- Focus on positive aspects of autism
- Child care for autistic and non-autistic children ages 4 and up
- Three days of continuous immersion in an autistic-friendly environment
The Facility
Autreat is held in the Johnstown campus of University of Pittsburgh, in Johnstown, Pennsylvania. The campus has plenty of open space for walking, recreation, and enjoying the outdoors. It has air-conditioned lodging in apartment-style residence halls.
Apartments have two bedrooms, with two people per bedroom. Each apartment also has bathroom facilities, a lounge, and a kitchenette with a small refrigerator and a microwave oven.
Private rooms are available at an extra cost and
as space allows. Some rooms are ADA-compliant and all are
accessible. Fee adjustments are available if you live
nearby or wish to stay in a motel off-site and commute to
Autreat during the days, or if you wish to provide your
own meals instead of having meals in the Autreat dining
hall. We can provide a list of nearby motels and
restaurants.
More detailed information is available at autreatinfo, an Ongoing Autreat updates and discussion online group.
If you are new to Autreat
Autreat is designed to be ‘autistic space.’ This is sometimes confusing or uncomfortable for non-autistic people attending. If you’re new to ANI and unfamiliar with Autreat protocol, please carefully review the information in this brochure and on the ANI web site, and contact ANI if you have questions. Descriptions of past Autreats can be found here. A personal account is found here and here. If you aren’t sure you’re ready for three days of total immersion, you might consider registering for days only and commuting from a local motel.PROGRAM
WORKSHOPS
Autreat features an exciting lineup of presentations on a variety of subjects of interest to the Autistic community, like self-determination, assistive technology, accommodations, late diagnosis and more. For additional information on workshops, click here.OPTIONAL CERTIFICATE TRACKS
You may earn a certificate by attending a group of seven presentations chosen to reflect a certain theme. Certificates are usually offered: Advocacy, Autistic Living and Professional Development.You do not need to be in a certificate track--this is
purely optional.
You are free to attend any workshops you want, as many or
as few as you want, or not to attend any workshops at all.
Continuing Education Units
Previous Autreat programmes have been approved to offer Continuing Education Units through University College, Syracuse University. One can earn 1.8 CEUs by attending all 10 workshops, or 1.2 CEUs by attending 7-9 workshops.A special note about social interactions
For some ANI members, meeting other autistic people and having a chance to socialize with others like ourselves is an exciting and wonderful experience. Others are not interested in social contacts and may come to this event just for the workshops. Some of us are interested in socializing some, but need to be able to take time out from interacting. Autreat is meant to provide opportunity, but not pressure, for social interactions.If you are coming to meet other autistic people, please understand that some people will also want to meet you, but some will not be into meeting people, and their own choice must also be respected.
If you want to come but do not want to meet or talk to people, you are still welcome to attend. You will be given a color-coded badge which you can use to indicate if you want to be approached only by people you already know, or don't want to be approached at all by anyone.
If you are a parent, a teacher, or other service
provider, and are bringing an autistic child or student or
client because you hope the person will make social
connections with others, please adopt the same position of
providing opportunity, but not pressure.
If you need personal assistance
ANI is not able to provide personal assistance for people who need help caring for themselves or participating in this program. If you need help with self-care, communication, orientation, or behavior management, please make your own arrangements to have someone with you to assist you.
Child care and activities for kids
The rate for children and teens includes a supervised activity program for all children under 18. Staff:child ratio is approximately 1:6. If your child needs more support than this, please bring an aide for your child, or contact ANI about hiring extra staff for an additional fee.Funding
In the past, people have successfully applied for funding from sources such as local autism societies, family support agencies, state commissions on developmental disabilities, Arc chapters, and public schools.Read A Short Course on Autreat
Funding by Jim Sinclair, for more information.
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Transportation to the campus
Autreat takes place at the Johnstown campus of the University of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. (Please note that the campus is in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, approximately 75 miles from Pittsburgh, and not in Pittsburgh.) The nearest major airports are is in Pittsburgh and Philadelphia, with connections from NYC.
There is a small regional airport in Johnstown that receives incoming flights from Washington Dulles (IAD).
We have arranged a shuttle from the train station, bus station and the local airport.
Driving from New York City takes about 6 hours, and from Cleveland, Washington, DC and Baltimore takes about 4 hours. There are rail connections from NYC, Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.
More detailed directions at http://members.bellatlantic.net/autreattravel. ANI has compiled information on local transit, and information on nearby restaurants, and hotels/motels, to assist confirmed attendees pre-Autreat and on-site. If you have any questions, please ask ANI. You can also ask question and access more detailed online information at autreatinfo, at Ongoing Autreat updates and discussion online group.
