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Colorado holds 1st state autism conference

The gathering at CSU focuses on ways to bolster educational practices for students with autism.

FORT COLLINS, Colo. — For years there's been interest in bringing together educators, families and professionals to talk about how to better serve children with autism, said Brooke Carson, an autism specialist with the state Department of Education

"Why are we not doing a conference?" Carson said she was asked over and over. "Now is the time."

Carson partnered with Susan Hepburn, a professor of human development and family studies at Colorado State University, to co-chair the first Colorado Autism Conference, which will run for three days at CSU in Fort Collins.

The conference also features an exhibit hall where individuals with disabilities will be selling their products.

On Tuesday, Steve Baldwin set up shop and showed off various fidget toys he created using a 3D printer.

“With a fidget like this – like the brush input, a lot of people on the spectrum like having a brush for sensory input," he said, holding the green, plastic fidget in his hand.

Baldwin, 36, was a senior in high school when he learned he was on the autism spectrum. He struggled most with handwriting.

"My teachers absolutely can’t read it," he said.

Baldwin now runs a 3D printing company out his home and has taught 3D printing classes at Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum. 

He was selling quite a few fidgets at the autism conference on Tuesday.

“Conferences like this are a major opportunity for you to attend and meet people on the spectrum and also learn from experts in the field," Baldwin said.

Organizers of the Colorado Autism Conference hope to hold the event every two years.

"This is a huge, huge thing for us," Brooke Carson said about the conference, which has been in the planning for a year and a half. "We're excited. I'm looking forward to what people have to say."

About 500 attendees are expected at the conference. Each day will start with a keynote speech before attendees go to sessions throughout the day on subjects like social skills, best practices in classrooms, coping with anxiety, college preparation and how autism presents differently in boys and girls.

The focus of the conference is "partnering for potential," and the goal is to bring together agencies, educators, advocates, professionals and families to discuss ways to better support the education of students with autism.

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It's about creating partnerships so that all those who work in the field of autism are not working in isolation, Carson said.

"It's more than an 'education' answer," Carson said. "In schools, we don't have all the answers. The partnerships are important."

In the Denver metro area, one out of every 72 8-year-old children was identified as having Autism Spectrum Disorder in 2014, according to a report from the Colorado Department of Public Health & Environment.

For the parents of a child with autism, the conference can help them find answers and guidance, Carson said.

"We have a place for families," she said. For those with a new diagnosis, "they can learn: What are my next steps? Or maybe this isn't a new thing, but their son or daughter is entering college and they want to learn about that. Depending on where they are in their own learning, we try to cover that."

If you go:
When: Tuesday-Thursday
Where: Lory Student Center at Colorado State University, Fort Collins
Cost: $175 for professionals, $75 for self-advocates, families and full-time students
How to register: Online registration is closed, but you can register on-site starting at 7 a.m. Tuesday.

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