Agenda is subject to change.

Bringing Your Whole Self to Life
Lola Dada-Olley, Esq.; Attorney. Advocate. Writer. Speaker.

Recent societal focus has been on efforts aimed at encouraging people to bring “their full self to work.” Lola Dada-Olley goes a step further by highlighting the importance of bringing one’s full self to life, especially as a lifetime caregiver. Lola is the older sister of an autistic and intellectually disabled man and the mother of two children on the spectrum, a boy and a girl. Her daughter is also intellectually disabled. Her presentation highlights the tools she developed over time that aided her in developing the generational mindset necessary to not only become a more present lifetime caregiver, but also a lawyer, wife, mom, podcast host, writer, and member of her community. Recurring themes include self-awareness, addressing generational trauma, self-care, mental health, and hope.

By attending this session, attendees will be introduced to the framework Lola used to propel her into her current season, known as the three R’s:

• Recognize: Recognizing the lane one finds themselves in
• Redefine: Redefining what success can now look like
• Reimagine: Reimagining what it means to thrive

Speaker Bio: Lola Dada-Olley is an attorney, advocate, speaker, writer, and podcast host. She currently serves as in-house counsel for a global banking institution, where she advises on matters related to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In 2020, Lola chronicled her family’s multi-generational autism journey with the launch of the “Not Your Mama’s Autism” podcast. Part audio memoir/part interview style podcast, Lola touches upon topics such as societal stigma, culture, intersection of race and disability, health care, community policing, and corporate disability inclusion efforts. In 2021, Lola gave a TEDx talk titled, “Your Path is Your Purpose”, explaining how introspection can help prepare you for your own unique life path. She has since spoken before audiences nationwide on topics that include advocacy, hope, and disability inclusion.

Lola lives in the Dallas area with her husband, two children, and an entitled Portuguese water dog. Her hobbies include sleeping like a baby.

It Isn't Inclusion Without Peers: Supporting Students on the Autism Spectrum and Their Peers to Learn Together
Matthew Brock, Ph.D.; Associate Professor of Special Education at Ohio State University

Promoting meaningful inclusion involves supporting students on the autism spectrum and their peers to interact and learn together. In this presentation, Dr. Matt Brock will share how to use powerful peer-mediated interventions to improve social and academic outcomes both for students on the autism spectrum and their peers in inclusive settings. Using both research data and anecdotes, he will share examples of how peer-mediated interventions support meaningful inclusion in classrooms, cafeterias, and playgrounds. Specifically, he will address the following objectives:

1. Participants will be able to describe the critical importance of including peer-mediated interventions as part of the inclusion planning process.
2. Participants will be able to describe three different peer-mediated interventions that can be used to support students in inclusive classrooms, cafeterias, and playgrounds.
3. Participants will be able to locate resources that will enable them to implement these peer-mediated interventions at their own schools.

Speaker Bio: Dr. Matthew Brock is an Associate Professor of Special Education at Ohio State University. His research focuses on promoting inclusion by supporting interactions between students with and without disabilities. Dr. Brock currently leads a clinical trial of FLIP Recess, an intervention to support inclusion at recess for students with significant disabilities. He is the author of It Isn't Inclusion Without Peers: Supporting Students With and Without Disabilities to Learn Together.

Prior to receiving his doctorate, Matt worked as a preschool teacher, elementary school teacher, and taught through the U.S. Peace Corps. He has published more than 50 peer-reviewed journal articles and has been awarded over $6 million in federal grants. In 2021, Dr. Brock was named in Stanford University’s list of the Top 2% of Scientists Worldwide.

Mobilizing the Autistic Community at the State Level: The Importance of Diverse Autistic Voices in Policy  
Katie Oswald; Executive Director, Full Spectrum Agency for Autistic Adults

We need a statewide autistic adult committee to advise policymakers and other community decision-makers. Currently, there is no organized mechanism for autistic people in Michigan to communicate directly with political and business leaders who make decisions that affect our lives. Society would not tolerate decisions being made for other minority groups without including them in meaningful ways and the same should be true for autistic people. Not all autistic people learn the skills necessary to advocate for their needs. As educators and family members, you can teach and support self-determination and engagement in the autistic community.

Speaker Bio: Katie Oswald is a nonprofit founder and autistic self-advocate. She started Full Spectrum Agency for Autistic Adults in 2018 after being diagnosed with autism in her 30s. Katie facilitates peer support groups, social and recreational activities, co-working sessions, and other programs for over 1,000 group members. She provides one-on-one coaching and mentoring for autistic adults and parents of autistic individuals. In addition to her work at Full Spectrum, Katie partners with organizations throughout Michigan to teach sexuality education, skills for navigating healthy relationships, self-determination, and pre-employment skills. Her lived experience of autism and openness in sharing her story allows her to connect with autistic and neurotypical peers alike. As a passionate advocate for autistic acceptance and inclusion, Katie speaks at conferences, leads corporate trainings, and engages community stakeholders in important and meaningful conversations about becoming more inclusive as individuals and as a society.

How to Provide Neurodiversity-aligning Supports for Autistic Students within an Educational Context
Laura S. DeThorne,  Ph.D., CCC-SLP; Professor & Chair, Department of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences at Western Michigan University

Presented from a combined parental-professional perspective, this session will first provide a brief overview of the neurodiversity paradigm. The remainder of the session will be focused on how to integrate autistic voices and modify environmental factors within the context of current special education constraints.

Speaker Bio: ​​​​​​​Dr. DeThorne, PhD CCC-SLP is Chair of Speech, Language & Hearing Sciences at Western Michigan University. Her scholarship focuses on supporting communication competence in the everyday interactions of individuals on the autism spectrum using the neurodiversity paradigm. She currently serves as an editor for the American Journal of Speech-Language Pathology and edited a form on resisting ableism in school-based speech-language pathology for Language, Speech, & Hearing Services in Schools.

Lifestyle Design: Rebuilding the Village with A Generational Mindset
Lola Dada-Olley, Esq.; Attorney. Advocate. Writer. Speaker.

Many are familiar with the adage, “it takes a village to raise a child.” When a family has a child with complex medical needs, the old village may need to be rebuilt that now reflects a whole new frontier when it comes to both life and parenting.

This presentation highlights how a family may need to reconstruct their education, health care, and community village after life-changing medical diagnoses. The reconstructed village itself may need to be further fine-tuned based on changing life phases, financial constraints, and geographic limitations.

By attending this session, attendees will be presented with examples of the types of considerations made by families in obtaining access to education, health care, and community within the confines of societal systems not designed with them in mind.

Speaker Bio: Lola Dada-Olley is an attorney, advocate, speaker, writer, and podcast host. She currently serves as in-house counsel for a global banking institution, where she advises on matters related to the Americans with Disabilities Act.

In 2020, Lola chronicled her family’s multi-generational autism journey with the launch of the “Not Your Mama’s Autism” podcast. Part audio memoir/part interview style podcast, Lola touches upon topics such as societal stigma, culture, intersection of race and disability, health care, community policing, and corporate disability inclusion efforts. In 2021, Lola gave a TEDx talk titled, “Your Path is Your Purpose”, explaining how introspection can help prepare you for your own unique life path. She has since spoken before audiences nationwide on topics that include advocacy, hope, and disability inclusion.

Lola lives in the Dallas area with her husband, two children, and an entitled Portuguese water dog. Her hobbies include sleeping like a baby.

Conference Information:

• Conference Homepage and Registration