Autreat proposal deadline in 10 days

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Please circulate far and wide:

Autreat is a retreat-style conference run by Autism Network International,
for autistic people and our families, professionals, friends and
supporters.

We are now accepting proposals for workshops to be presented at Autreat
2006, to be held Monday-Friday, June 26-30, 2006, in metropolitan
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Our campus location provides greater comfort,
accessibility, and food service than previous camp facilities, while still
offering the open space and freedom to roam that have always been part of
Autreat.

PROPOSAL DEADLINE:

February 1, 2006

WHAT KINDS OF WORKSHOPS ARE WANTED AT AUTREAT?

Autreat is very different from typical autism conferences. When preparing
a proposal for consideration, be aware that the *primary* audience at
Autreat is autistic people. Parents and professionals do attend, and
most who attend find the presentations to be of interest, but Autreat is
basically autistic space. Be sure your information is being presented in
a manner that is both helpful to and respectful of autistic people. We
expect that you will be speaking *to* us, not speaking to non-autistic
people *about* us.

We are interested in workshops, by either autistic or non-autistic people,
about positive ways of living with autism, about functioning as autistic
people in a neurotypical world, and about the disability movement and its
significance for autistic people.

We are *not* interested in workshops about how to cure, prevent, or
overcome autism. We do *not* appreciate having non-autistic people come
into our space to talk to each other about how difficult we are to deal
with, or how heroic they are for putting up with us. If your workshop is
geared toward the interests of parents or professionals, it should focus
on positive ways of appreciating and supporting autistic people, not on
reinforcing negative attitudes about autism and autistic people.

Autreat aims to be welcoming and relevant to the broadest possible
cross-section of the autistic population. Autreat is attended by autistic
people who speak and by autistic people who do not speak; by autistic
people who communicate fluently and by autistic people who have limited
communication; by autistic people who live independently and by autistic
people who need intensive support with daily living; by autistic people
who have jobs and by autistic people who live on disability benefits; by
autistic people who are able to present as "socially acceptable" and by
autistic poeople who require support to help them manage their behavior;
by autistic people who have been labeled "high-functioning" and by
autistic people who have been labeled "low-functioning"--including some
autistic people who have had *both* labels, at different times in their
lives.

While it is not expected that any one presentation will be of interest to
each and every autistic person, we do look for presentations that will
appeal to the widest possible audience. We are *not* interested in
presentations that reinforce what we consider to be artificial
distinctions between members of our community who are labeled "low-" vs.
"high-functioning."

A note about "personal experience" presentations:

Be aware that everyone at Autreat either knows what it's like to be
autistic, or knows what it's like to care about someone who is autistic.
All of us have our own personal stories. Presentations about the
presenters' personal stories are not going to generate much interest,
unless you're able to use your story in a way that will help other people
to share and understand their own experiences in a new way. Your proposal
should describe what participants can expect to get out of your workshop,
not just what personal experiences you're going to talk about.

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT WORKSHOP TOPICS OF INTEREST

If you have never attended Autreat before, please review the ANI web site
(www.ani.ac) and the past Autreat brochures, and contact Jim Sinclair
([email protected]) if you have questions, to make sure you
understand what Autreat is about and whether your topic is relevant to
ANI's philosophy.

WHAT IS EXPECTED OF PRESENTERS?

If you submit a proposal, we expect you to be available to attend Autreat
if we accept your proposal, and to give your presentation on the day and
time scheduled. We make every effort to accommodate presenters'
preferences in setting the Autreat schedule, but it is not always possible
to give every presenter his or her preferred time slot.

Presenters are expected to send advance copies of any handouts or
transparencies they plan to use, so that we can prepare alternate format
copies for print-impaired attendees.

Presenters are expected to submit an article on their topic for inclusion
in the program book. These also need to be submitted in a timely manner,
so we can prepare copies in alternate formats.

Presenters are expected to consent for their workshops to be videotaped,
and for the recordings to be sold by Autism Network International.

Please be prepared to meet these expectations if you decide to submit a
proposal.

WHAT'S IN IT FOR THE PRESENTERS?

Autreat presenters receive free registration, including on-site meals and
lodging.

ANI is a volunteer-run, member-supported grassroots organization with
minimal funding. We cannot reimburse for off-site expenses, nor can we pay
travel expenses or honoraria. If your proposal is accepted, we will
send you a formal letter of invitation if this would help you in raising your
own travel funds.

Presenters are entitled to receive one free copy of the recording of their
workshop.

PROPOSALS SHOULD INCLUDE:

* Title of your proposed workshop

* Detailed description for consideration by the planning committee

* Brief (5 sentences or less) abstract exactly as you want it listed in
program materials should your proposal be accepted

* Indicate ONE theme that BEST relates to your proposed presentation:

Advocacy skills
Life skills/adaptive strategies
Helpful support services
Communication
Social/interpersonal issues
Autistic community and culture
Education
Employment
Family issues
Residential issues
Disability rights and politics
Autism research and theory
Other (describe):

* Indicate which group(s) you believe would find your proposed
presentation of interest. Check as many as apply. Briefly describe what
your presentation would offer to each group you have checked:

Autistic adults
Autistic teenagers
Family members of autistic people
Educators
Clinicians
Service providers
Other (specify):

* Your name and title (if any) exactly as you want them listed in program
materials should your proposal be accepted

* Contact information (address, phone, fax and/or email if you have them)

* Brief (5 sentences or less) presenter bio exactly as you want it listed
in program materials should your proposal be accepted

* Any audiovisual equipment you would need for your workshop

If you have never presented at Autreat before, please also include an
introduction for the planning committee summarizing your relevant
experience, including any presentations or other education/advocacy
activities elsewhere, and the nature of your interest in autism and/or in
general disability issues.

PROPOSAL DEADLINE:

February 1, 2006

HOW TO SUBMIT A PROPOSAL

Proposals can be submitted via email to Jim Sinclair
([email protected]), or via postal mail to ANI at the address
below.

WHAT IF I DON'T WANT TO PRESENT, BUT I HAVE AN IDEA FOR A WORKSHOP I'D
LIKE TO SEE?

If you want to make suggestions for Autreat presentations, or make
comments about previous presentations or presenters, please fill out the
questionnaire available at http://ani.autistics.org/autplan2.txt and send
responses via email to [email protected], or print out a copy and
send it via snailmail to ANI at the address below.


Autism Network International
P.O. Box 35448
Syracuse NY 13235
USA