Thoughts on AANE's 10th Anniversary Conference

I went to the AANE 10th Anniversary Conference in Marlborough, Massachusetts, at the Royal Plaza Hotel.  The attendance this year was more than 600 people.  I sat at a table that had the sign "Adults with Asperger's Syndrome" which at the front of the room next to the big panel where the speakers were.

It was great to meet new members of the Asperger Assocation of New England.  Cory, who is a young black man currently going to school at Bunker Hill Community College, rode in the carpool with me and my social worker, Jamie Freed, to the conference.  We all gathered at the Riverside T station for our ride in Jamie's mini-van.

Dr. Oliver Sacks, author of Awakenings and other books, talked about the history of discovering disorders and growing awareness of this disorders over the years.  He mentioned his work with Tourette's Syndrome patients and also about his relationship with Temple Grandin, a woman with autism who has written books: Thinking in Pictures and Animal Translations.  At the beginning of his speech, Dr. Sacks was given a portrait of himself drawn by fellow AANE member, Jamie Maxfield who is an animater with Asperger's Syndrome.

Other guest speakers in the morning part of the conference were Dena Gassner and Stephen Shore.  Dena is the second of three generations of people with Autism Spectrum Disorders.  She is from Kentucky and is an adovacte for people with disabilities.  Her speech was great.  She talked about her struggles which were a lot like my own.   AANE president, Stephen Shore, was great also.  He talked about the difference that ten years make since the formation of AANE.  He pointed out how he and others have taught people about what people with AS are really like.

The afternoon part of the conference featured a discussion panel with people who have been involved with bringing awareness about Asperger's Syndrome and helping people with AS over the last ten years.  The panelists were Daniel Rosen, Scott McLeod, Teresa Bolick, David Pauls, Dorothy Lucci, Elsa Abele and Richard F. Howard.  Their professions are in medicine, psychology, speech-language pathology and law.  Their individual speeches and answers to the audience's questions were helpful and informative.

Exhitbitors were many.  Lots of books about autism/Asperger's were on sale and some sold out very quickly.

I had a good time.  This makes my fourth conference so far since joining AANE back in 2002.