US Autism & Asperger Association Aligns With Autism Today

Salt Lake City, UT – US Autism & Asperger Association, Inc. (USAAA) and Autism Today Education Corporation (Autism Today) announced today that they have created a strategic partnership to host the upcoming Autism Vancouver Biennial Congress 2007 conference (www.autismvancouver.com) to be held March 1-4, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

“Dr. Larry Kaplan and USAAA bring a wealth of experience in partnering with Autism Today to create of one the most comprehensive autism and Asperger conferences in North America,” stated Karen Simmons, founder and CEO of Autism Today. “The alignment of two prominent autism groups is a tremendous benefit to the entire autism and Asperger communities in Canada and the United States,” said Ms. Simmons who is co-author of the forthcoming "Chicken Soup For the Special Needs Soul" with Jack Canfield, Mark Victor Hansen and Heather MacNamara, as well as the author of “The Official Autism 101 Manual”.

“I am very excited to be associated with Karen Simmons and the Autism Today organization,” said Dr. Kaplan, author, researcher, and Executive Director of USAAA. The partnership with Autism Today is a natural fit for USAAA as both organizations share similar missions to help enhance the quality of life of millions of individuals and their families/caregivers touched by autism spectrum disorders worldwide.”

Autism Vancouver Biennial Congress 2007 has assembled leading experts on autism spectrum disorders, with presenters from England, Canada, and the United States. Speakers will focus on ways to improve the quality of life for the affected individuals and their families/caregivers by conducting presentations in the areas of educational and biomedical interventions, research, adjunct therapies, diet and nutrition, and family issues.

“The main focus of our conference is “Autism Through the Lifespan,” which is a very unique approach to autism that is critical today as the population of children and teens with autism age,” stated Ms. Simmons. “Addressing the lifespan of autism spectrum disorders will be a key component to this year’s conference. Funding and support usually stop at the age of eighteen to twenty-two, but autism remains. This is a major challenge for parents and caregivers.”

The biennial conference provides comprehensive, evidence-based information to assist parents, family members, caregivers, physicians, educators, therapists, social workers, nurses, and other professionals in building effective interventions for all individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

“Parents of children with autism are encouraged to attend the conference and obtain information that may be helpful in finding the resources needed for recovery, advocacy, education and achieving a better quality of life. This conference will be very beneficial for parents and loved ones because not only will they get an incredible amount of information, they will be inspired. One of our main goals of this conference is to give people hope,” said Dr. Kaplan.

Speakers include Dr. Temple Grandin, Dr. Simon Baron-Cohen, Dr. Stephen Shore, Dr. Barry Prizant, Dr. Peter Gerhardt, Nathan Ory, Dr. Teresa Bolick, and many more experts in the field of autism.

The US Autism & Asperger Association, based in Draper, Utah, is a U.S. 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization with over 55,000 subscribers to their USAAA WeeklyNews email publication. USAAA is a leader in the autism community by providing educational and family support through conferences/seminars and published and electronic mediums. USAAA was the first autism and Asperger organization to provide a worldwide live webcast of its International conference last August from Park City, Utah, produced by USAAA WebTVLive.

Autism Today Education Corporation, based in Sherwood Park, Alberta, is the largest autism resource online and one of the leading autism and Asperger’s resource distributors in the world. AutismToday.com was the first to provide a cutting edge tool for people within the autism community to list and locate events and conferences as well as other services including professionals, camps, employment and much more. Autism Today works with many groups to help solve the common problems and misconceptions surrounding Autism Spectrum Disorders while empowering others through their KEEN Education Foundation, a non-profit Canadian based organization.