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7685 LIFE OVER 40: PANEL OF INDIVIDUALS WITH ASD 40+ YEARS OLD

Thursday, July 9, 2015: 2:45 PM-4:00 PM

Room Number: 205 (Colorado Convention Center)

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Children with autism grow up. This panel will address issues of those individuals with ASD who have reached middle age. They will discuss their issues from their own point of view. The autism population is growing up and growing older. This panel of individuals on the autism spectrum who are age 40 or older will share about their current issues.

The panel will begin by describing their current life circumstance including living situation, employment, problems, joys and relationships.

One of the issues of concern is Heath (physical, psychological, and emotional). Since many of these individuals have sensory issues, health problems can be even more aggravating for them than the typical person. It is harder for these individuals to identify health problems and to get the appropriate support and care.

For some individuals with ASD, it is difficult to get the right amount of support, both financial and assistance. Many of them are bright in some ways but may not have the skills to get and keep a job that is at their intellectual level. Sometimes they are vulnerable to being taken advantage of and as they get older, their parents and family are less able to be a support. These individuals will share what employment has worked for them.

Discrimination against people who are diverse is a huge issue for this population.

There are now organizations such as ASA and GRASP which bring together individuals with ASD and provide information and support. These individuals will describe their involvement in autism organizations and what it has meant to them.

The panel would also like to share their joys in life and the people and supports that have helped them the most.

Life after 40 is different for the individual with ASD than their earlier years. Come to learn how to prepare for your future or how to support others who are no longer children. It is important for educators to know how to prepare their current students for life as adults and to understand life issues.

Learning Objectives:

Review some of the issues for individuals with ASD reaching middle age
Explore what supports have been helpful to older adults with ASD
Express some of the supports that are needed and insufficient for this population

Content Area: Personal Perspectives

Presenters:

Julie A. Donnelly, Ph.D.
Director
Autism Support Services

Julie A Donnelly has a Ph.D. in Special Education specializing in autism. She has been an autism consultant and the associate director of Missouri's state autism agency, Project ACCESS. Julie currently contracts through her private practice, Autism Support Services. She is the mother of Jean-Paul Bovee, who experiences autism.

Xenia Grant, B.A.
Facilitator
Denver GRASP chapter

Xenia Grant was diagnosed with High Functioning Autism at the JFK Center for Developmental Disabilities in 2001. She currently works for Goodwill Industries, and has been involved in the autism community in Denver for seventeen years. She has spoken on autism in over 10 states and two Canadian provinces. She is originally from St. Louis and moved to Denver in 1997. She is the facilitator for the Denver GRASP chapter.

Mike Burke

Mike worked for 20+ years in the inside sales field and was no 2 in the nation in sales for Time-Life selling entertainment products. He is good friends with Rhonda Fields, a candidate for state senate seat district 29, who is a great advocate for people with the autism spectrum disorder. He has been with GRASP in Denver for the last 3 years and is a strong advocate in Denver for people with the spectrum.

Mike Hoover

Mike Hoover, 43, lives in Boulder, Colorado. He was appointed to the Colorado Developmental Disabilities Council by three Governors. He currently participates with the Council’s Public Policy Committee and CANDO, Collaborative for Autism and Neurodevelopmental Disabilities Options—an ad hoc committee of the Council. On the local scene, he participates with the Innovations Advocacy Council He has been on the Autism National Committee Board of Directors and the Colorado TASH Board. He is a founding member of Watch Our Words (WOW Colorado), a trainer in Supported Typing, Inclusion, and Disability Advocacy. Mike works at a brewery, is an artist and a deacon at his church.

Michele Newman

Michele Newman is a 60-year-old Autistic Savant who wasn’t diagnosed until age 52. Since that diagnosis, she has become a proactive advocate for herself and other adults with ASD through active participation with CO-CANDO, JFK Partners Advisory Council, Autistic Global Initiative (AGI), as a former member of Autism Society of Colorado Board of Directors, and her newly launched non-profit called Autism in Community. Michele has a B.S. in Geography from Arizona State University and currently lives in Longmont, CO.

Brian Bernard

Brian Bernard is a creative artist and 5th generation Colorado native. He has been active in the autism support community since 2010 including being published in The Art of Autism; Shifting Perceptions - as well as public presentations such as at CU Boulder. Prior to that he did similar OutReach work with suicide awareness and prevention, mental health and fatherhood. Mr Bernard performs as a dancer and actor.

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