Parents, grandparents, and caregivers of individuals with autism are invited to attend a special one-day conference on Wednesday, September 10, 2025.
Register Now!
Event Details
Wednesday, September 10, 2025 from 10:15 a.m. – 4:15 p.m.
St. Charles Convention Center
1 Convention Center Plaza
St. Charles, Missouri, 63303
Phone: 636-669-3000
This event is possible thanks to the generous support of the Thompson Foundation for Autism & Neurodevelopment.
We are excited to welcome attendees in person. Virtual attendance is not available for this event.
Cost & Registration
Cost to attend this all day conference is $20. Lunch is provided. If cost prohibits your ability to attend, please contact us at the email below.
For questions, email benignoj@health.missouri.edu or call 573-882-2077.
2025 Schedule and Sessions
| Time | Event | |
|---|---|---|
| 9:45 – 10:15 a.m. | Check-In | |
| 10:15 – 11:05 a.m. | Keynote, Empowering Growth: Setting Your Expectations for Children with Autism Molly Love, BCBA & Self Advocate |
|
| 11:05 – 11:15 a.m. | Break | |
| Strand 1 (Room A/B) | Strand 2 (Room C/D) | |
| 11:15 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. | Helping Big Feelings Make Sense: Emotion Regulation Strategies for Autistic Tweens and Teens Jennifer Sykes, PhD | Big Feelings, Little Voices: Helping Young Children with Autism Find Calm and Connection Michelle Dampf, MA, CCC-SLP |
| 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. | Lunch (provided) | |
| Strand 1 (Room A/B) | Strand 2 (Room C/D) | |
| 1:30 – 2:45 p.m. | Your Voice Matters: Building Meaningful Partnerships with Your Child’s Autism Care Team Ben Black, MD | Behavior Basics: Practical Strategies for Parents Madison Imler, MS BCBA, LBA |
| 2:45 – 3:00 p.m. | Break | |
| Strand 1 (Room A/B) | Strand 2 (Room C/D) | |
| 3:00 – 4:15 p.m. | Teaching Healthy Sexual Development Jena Randolph, PhD | Growing Independence: A Strengths-Based Approach for Raising Autistic Children Tara DeVore, MEd |
| 4:30 p.m. | Ask the Experts Join us for this FREE pre-conference event! The Ask the Experts panel provides an opportunity for family members and professionals to ask questions to a panel of autism experts. Our experts represent a variety of fields including medicine, behavior analysis, education, occupational and speech therapy, and psychology as well as an autistic individual and a parent of an individual with autism. Drinks and appetizers provided! |
|
Although the Ask the Expert event is free, we do ask that you register. When registering for the parent conference, please select “yes” for attending Ask the Experts. If you have already registered and would like to add on the Ask the Experts event, please click here.
Speaker PowerPoint & Handouts
Handouts will be posted as they become available from presenters.