ASUA Students Lead First Ever Panel at Local Conference
On Tuesday, October 6, ASUA marked an exciting milestone at the Philadelphia Autism Project’s 11th annual conference, which took place at the Academy of Natural Sciences. For the first time ever, ASUA students themselves spoke on a panel in their own words about navigating their unique experiences.
The Philadelphia Autism Project was established in 2013 by the former City Councilmember Dennis M. O’Brien and today works in tandem with Pennsylvania’s Autism Services, Education, Resources and Training (ASERT) Collaborative. They work to provide resources, build connections and elevate diverse perspectives within the neurodiverse community of the region.
Ev Smith, Senior Director of Procurement, understood the golden opportunity that presented itself when he heard the theme for this year’s conference, which was Understanding Autistic Masking: Mental Health, Identity and Belonging. Having worked with the Philadelphia Autism Project previously, Ev knew how important it would be to include student perspectives from their own words.
Things took off from there. With the panel approved, ASUA staff got to work assembling the group of students who would be speaking on it. The students selected were Bahiyah C., Daniel F., Jonathan S. and Xander K. “We picked a variety of students based on their proficiencies and based on who would actually want to participate,” Ev said of the selection process.
The panel was organized as a Q&A where the students were asked about different topics pertaining to their experiences, hopes and goals for the future. For example, when asked to offer advice to other neurodiverse kids, Bahiyah instructed them to “start your own future till you find your dream job and to find your own passions.”
ASUA CEO Jamie Jenkins “Hearing them share their own experiences, perspectives, goals, and ideas about transition, self-determination, and life after school was a powerful reminder of why this work matters. That is exactly what we want transition programming to accomplish and it is something our entire ASUA community should be incredibly proud of.”
Along with Ev, Kay Stauffer (Organizational Knowledge & Payroll Specialist) and Michelle Wigley (Teacher) were on hand to facilitate the panel that was attended by community members, parents, professionals, business leaders and local politicians. On what he thought neurotypical people should keep in mind when engaging with people like him, Xander said, “They should know I have autism and that I need time to think about questions. Having choices is helpful, and they should write down options and directions.”
“I could not be more proud of Bahiyah, Daniel, Jonathan, and Xander,” Jamie continued. “We are grateful to them for reminding all of us what can happen when students are given meaningful opportunities to lead the conversation about their own futures.”
Stephen Hesson [he/him]
Brand and Marketing Strategist