MADISON — Wisconsin’s only adult autism conference, Interactive Network, Talks and Education for Growing Autism Legitimacy (INTEGRAL), will be held Oct. 24. It is the second year of the conference, hosted by the Autism Society of South-Central Wisconsin (ASC).  It will be held virtually this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The virtual format opened the doors for the conference to include state, national and international experts as part of the planned “panel-table” discussions.

According to Scott Allen, co-founder and coordinator of the conference, INTEGRAL is an autism conference like no other — it puts adults on the autism spectrum front and center, not as a subject for others to discuss, but for them to exchange perspectives with expert professionals and parents so that everyone can learn from each other.

This year the focus will be the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the adult autism community in Wisconsin. The conference will feature a keynote by autistic attorney and elected school board member Nicki Vander Meulen of Madison, followed by nine breakout sessions with “panel-table” discussions — a combination that features a panel of experts in an open-ended, conversational format with participants, like a roundtable.

All stakeholders of the autism community are invited to attend — adults on the spectrum, parents, support workers, researchers, clinicians, therapists, educators, social workers, disability advocates, law enforcement and business leaders among others.

The biggest goal of INTEGRAL is to get lots of perspectives sharing ideas, educating each other, and forging a stronger community through direct interaction, Scott said.

Complete details can be found at https://integralautism.org/.