Honoring and Supporting Total Communication – Tools and Tuning In

Susan is a retired occupational therapist. She received her Masters degree in Occupational Therapy from Western Michigan University in 1968 and Masters of Education degree in special education technology in 1995. She was diagnosed on the Autism Spectrum in 1999. Most of her career has been spent in school-based practice. Susan has been a keynote speaker and presenter at various conferences. Susan developed the Neuro-Strengths Based Support for Autism Framework which comes from her personal experience as an autistic individual and professional experience as an occupational therapist who worked with autistic clients. She grew up trying to “be like everyone else;” she succeeded in masking but at the cost of never developing a sense of “self” which led to symptoms of post traumatic stress. When she was finally diagnosed in her early 50’s, she learned that there were other options of how to think and behave, which radically changed her life for the better. Susan’s passion is to educate parents and professionals so the autistic individuals in their lives are understood.