Autism Alliance of Michigan (AAoM) was founded with the vision that people with autism will lead lives that meet their greatest potential. AAoM leads efforts to raise expectations and expand opportunities for people touched by autism across the lifespan.
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Expert presenters share evidence-based information traversing the lifespan from early intervention and initial diagnosis to quality of life for older autistic adults.
The
Autism Alliance of Michigan Navigating Autism Today (NAT) Conference connects autistic people of all ages and their loved ones with education, resources, and community.
The Autism Alliance of Michigan (AAoM ) has hosted the conference since 2015. Originally titled “Success is a Spectrum Parent Conference,” the main focus of the original event was helping parents access earlier identification and support services. Based on feedback from the autism community, AAoM broadened the scope to include autistic adults and professionals serving autistic individuals.
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Erik Gallery“We recognize that it's not just parents of children with autism needing supports,” says Erik Gallery, AAoM director of Statewide Access and Early Identification Initiatives. “It's autistic adults. It's our neuro-divergent community. It's providers and educators who serve these folks on the daily who are continuously looking for more support and more resources to address the complex needs that people living with autism sometimes face.”
The NAT Conference also includes an Autism Resource Fair. For the 2025 Novi event, 40 autism services providers, parent groups, self-advocates, social groups, and autistic artists and authors signed on to connect participants to the resources they provide their communities. In between sessions, participants have the opportunity to engage with relevant and new resources.
“I've heard a lot of people with autism speak about how it's hard to find a safe space,” says Jasmine Lester, an autistic adult who has presented at the NAT Conference. “The Navigating Autism Today Conference is a unique experience. Autistic people are feeling safe. Professionals are feeling this is actually a productive conversation. And caregivers are feeling like, ‘I'm learning something from this.’”
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Dr. Tisa Johnson-Hooper spoke at the 2024 NAT conference about the many barriers autistic people face. AAoM helps autistic people, their families, loved ones, and providers overcome those barriers.
Connections, community, and friendships
Lester notes that unlike a professional conference, the NAT Conference includes people from all walks of life and differing experiences with autism.
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Jasmine Lester“You will meet people of every level, of every perspective — professionals and people who experience autism, whether it's being autistic themselves, family members, or caregivers,” Lester says. “They can collaborate with each other and speak about their opinions while not being scared of judgment.”
Autistic adult Katie Oswald has attended four NAT Conferences in Novi and two in Grand Rapids.
“I've made a lot of professional connections. Because I do work in the autism community, it's led to more work opportunities. Also, I've made new friends there,” Oswald says.
A self-advocate, Oswald serves as executive director of
the Full Spectrum Agency for Autistic Adults providing peer-to-peer support and social groups. She encourages the autistic adults she works with to attend AAoM’s NAT Conferences.
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Katie Oswald“We do grow up into adults and still need services,” she says. “We're often looking for different services than kids are looking for. I've appreciated that there's an effort to include more Autism Resource Fair vendors who provide services to adults and have neurodiversity affirming services.”
Oswald shares that members of Full Spectrum Agency groups who have attended NAT have made new friends. At one conference, she and a group of peers met award-winning autistic playwright
Jason Robbins and ended up attending his play,
“Let’s Play Dragon Hatchers,” when it went on stage in southeast Michigan.
Oswald also plays a role as a consultant in creating autism-friendly environments at the NAT Conferences. If participants feel overwhelmed, they can take a break in a designated quiet space. They also can opt to wear wristbands that inconspicuously let others know if they are open to conversation or not.
“We've intentionally created an environment where autistic people feel welcomed and comfortable with no need to worry about fitting in because the environment fits them,” says Joanna Lofton, AAoM outreach manager and community resource specialist.
This approach is emphasized in the
AAoM Accessibility Statement, which acts as a framework in coordinating events like the NAT Conference and the type of participation AAoM hopes to encourage with attendees.
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Attendees will hear evidence-based content aligned with the lifespan of needs presented by autism.
The NAT line-up
The conference day unfolds with registration and breakfast followed by two morning breakout sessions, lunch, and two afternoon breakout sessions. Presenters and specific session topics are listed on the
AAoM website as they are confirmed.
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Joanna Lofton“How we've chosen presenters has grown over time. We make sure that we are covering everyone's perspective,” Lofton says. “We're getting more of those families who are wondering, ‘What happens to my neurodiverse adult when they become a senior citizen? How do I make sure they still have a good quality of life experience?’”
Presenters include experts sharing evidence-based information that guides autistic people, their families, caregivers, and providers in 15 core topic areas traversing the lifespan from what autism spectrum disorder is, initial diagnosis, and early intervention to recreational support, social skills, independent living, and quality of life for older autistic adults.
“Significant voices have told us, ‘Hey, I'm an autistic adult, and I'm trying to find resources for myself.’ Or families who are caring for adult children that are looking for the next step beyond clinical services," Lofton says. "They're looking for ways to ensure that their adult children have the support they need, whether it's living independently, finding a career, or furthering their education. We want to make sure that the conference is a holistic and global experience — a sense of belonging for everybody.”
Sessions are scheduled so that autistic adults, parents of autistic children, and providers of autism services can find relevant topics throughout the day.
“We're not using the same presenters over and over,” Lofton says. “We find people who have fresh ideas in those topic areas. We also create a multicultural representation in our presenters — and we have autistic presenters. We want autistic individuals to see themselves represented.”
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Lareea and Demir Jester
Lareea Jester attended her first NAT Conference in 2024. An educator, Jester’s youngest child, 6-year-old Demir, was diagnosed with autism when he was 2½ years old.
“It was a great opportunity to come together with other families that shared commonalities and to learn and gather resources that I could take back to my family — and not only my family but friends and other community members,” she says. “I was inspired by everything that was shared during the event. It was great to come together with those that either have experiences personally or professionally with autism and learn and grow from the connections being made with everyone else.”
Jester got ideas on how to navigate her son’s autism on a day-to-day basis at home and in school as well as guidance in determining what services he needed.
“So many resources were available to follow up on and start creating your own network,” she says.
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Wristbands are available so participants can let others know if they are open to conversation or not.
Hello, I’m your Navigator!
NAT Conference participants also have the opportunity to connect with AAoM’s
MiNavigator program at this event. Staffed by an interdisciplinary team of professionals that include clinical services, education, vocational rehabilitation, and lived autism experience, this free resource identification service is available to any Michigander with needs related to autism — parents and caregivers, autistic people, and service providers.
“When we started looking at who was actually contacting MiNavigator, we realized a lot of providers were also looking for assistance,” Lofton says. “That's one of the reasons we make the conference broad enough in the information that we share, so that there's something there for everyone.”
AAoM intentionally keeps the cost to attend the conference low. Scholarships are available and the registration fee is a fully tax deductible donation to AAoM. Participants can register
online or at the conference.
“It's definitely something that autistic adults and those who are caring for those with autism should attend,” Jester concludes. “It meets you at every stage. If you're just getting the diagnosis and don't know which way to turn, there are resources for that. If you have some baseline knowledge, but want to grow in your understanding, there is something for you. For the experts, they can share their knowledge with someone else. The conference meets you wherever you are on your journey.”
Estelle Slootmaker spends most workdays as a journalist and book editor. She will be publishing a new children’s book, “Places Where the Sun Don’t Shine.” You can contact her at Estelle.Slootmaker@gmail.com or www.constellations.biz.
Photos courtesy the Autism Alliance of Michigan.
Lareea Jester photo courtesy subject.
The Autism Alliance of Michigan Navigating Autism Today (NAT) Conference connects autistic people of all ages and their loved ones with education, resources, and community.