Autreat 2007

Call for proposals

Autreat is a retreat-style conference run by Autism Network International, for autistic people and our families, professionals, friends and supporters. We are accepting proposals for workshops to be presented at Autreat 2007, to be held Monday-Friday, June 25-29, 2007, in metropolitan Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

For help preparing a proposal:
If you want to submit a proposal but you have trouble reading these instructions and putting your proposal in the requested format, contact Jane Meyerding (jmeyerding@earthlink.net), for help. Send only plain text messages, with no attachments.

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 or under different circumstances.

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 (jisincla@mailbox.syr.edu) 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.

new requirements effective 2007:

• We hope to enhance the Autreat children's program by offering abbreviated versions of the presentations adapted for children. Presenters will be asked to either present a 30- to 45-minute adapted version of their presentation for the children's program; or, if a presenter is not comfortable presenting to children, to work with a volunteer in advance of Autreat, so that the volunteer will have the necessary information and materials to give the children's presentation. This means:
  1. If your topic is in fact suitable for children, we would like to have a child-accessible version of it offered during the children's program. Not all topics are suitable or interesting for children. If your topic is not likely to be of interest for children, then this request would not apply to your presentation.
  2. If your topic is likely to be of interest to children, then we would like to have a short age-appropriate version of it presented in the children's program.
  3. If your topic is going to be adapted for the children's program, you may choose to adapt and present the children's version yourself, or to have the Autreat Planning Committee find a volunteer to adapt and present it.
  4. If you choose to have a volunteer adapt and present the children's version of your presentation, then what will be asked of you will be to send in your adult presentation materials early enough for the volunteer to have time to review before Autreat. If the volunteer has questions about what you intend to present in the adult presentation, you will be asked to respond to the volunteer's questions. After the volunteer has prepared the children's version of your presentation, you will have an opportunity to review it for accuracy.
• Some presenters opt not to attend all of Autreat, but to come only on the day that they are presenting. Following a number of instances in which commuting presenters--usually through no fault of their own and due to truly unforeseeable circumstances--have been late arriving for their own presentations, we are instituting a new requirement for presenters who are not staying on-site for the entire duration of Autreat. If your proposal is accepted and is scheduled for an afternoon session, then you MUST plan to arrive on-site by 8:30 a.m. on the day of your presentation. If your proposal is accepted and is scheduled for a morning session, then you MUST plan to arrive on-site the night before your presentation. (Or, if you prefer to stay off-site at your own expense, you must arrive at alternate lodgings within five miles of the Autreat site, no later than the night before your presentation.)

This requirement is meant to create a safety margin so that even if you get lost, your vehicle breaks down, or a road along your route gets flooded, you will have enough time to navigate the crisis and still arrive in time for your presentation. So, if you plan to attend only on the day that you present, please plan to arrive half a day before your presentation.

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.

proposal deadline:
March 1, 2007

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 www.ani.ac/autplan2.php.