At AASCEND‘s January 18 meeting via Zoom Stephen Dale of the Dale Law Firm will speak on Special Needs Trusts. A trust is a legal relationship in which property is held by one party for the benefit of another.  A special needs trust is a trust designed for beneficiaries who are disabled, either physically or mentally. It is written so the beneficiary can enjoy the use of property that is held in the trust for his or her benefit, while at the same time allowing the beneficiary to receive essential needs-based government benefits. This is a good chance to learn the basics of this important support for adults on the autism spectrum. The presentation will be geared for both autistic adults and their families.

A few days before the event the Zoom link to the presentation will be emailed to people on our mailing list. There is no need to register.

Stephen Dale is an attorney and disability rights advocate who serves on boards and committees of disability rights organizations, including the ARC of California. He spends much of his time attending disability rights activities including legislative hearings. He teaches courses to the public, financial professionals, and other attorneys on special needs trusts and trust administration, with a special emphasis on achieving client independence while maintaining essential government benefits. Stephen is a frequent speaker on a variety of disability-related topics across the country. He is a long-standing member of the Special Needs Alliance and is a Trustee of the Golden State Pooled Trust.

As usual at AASCEND meetings, attendees on the autism spectrum will offer their experience and perspectives throughout the program. 

Who: Autistic adults, family members and professional who work with them are all welcome.
When: Sat Jan 18, 10 – 11am
Where: Online via Zoom, link will be emailed.

Contact info@aascend.org with any questions.

Here is a video recording of this event.

On December 21 AASCEND‘s Job Club presents Marques Hancock, speaking online via Zoom about job opportunities for neurodiverse workers with CVS Health and similar companies. Mr. Hancock is Workforce Initiatives Manager with CVS Health, where he oversees CVS workforce initiatives in Northern California, the Central Valley, and 6 Midwest states. In addition, Mr. Hancock serves as a co-leader to the Abilities in Abundance council. ​

Job Club Advisor Dan Middleton and Job Club Facilitator Michael Bernick will also discuss the job application process at Amazon and other major retailers, who have neurodiversity hiring initiatives.

Before joining CVS Health, Mr. Hancock worked as a corporate recruiter for RX Relief, one of the largest pharmaceutical staffing firms in the US . ​As an accomplished professional with a diverse background in recruiting, employer development, and workforce development, Marques brings a wealth of expertise and strategic insight to the hiring process.

As usual at AASCEND meetings, attendees on the autism spectrum will offer their experience and perspectives throughout the program. 

Who: Autistic adults, family members and professional who work with them are all welcome.
When: Sat Dec 21, 10 – 11am
Where: Online via Zoom, link will be emailed.

Contact info@aascend.org with any questions.

Here is an audio recording of the following program (sorry about the hum…).

LIVE AND IN-PERSON-ONLY AT THE SF ARC. It will be refreshing to meet in-person!

On November 16 AASCEND welcomes Dr. Diana Partovi (a late diagnosed autistic neuropsychologist) who will talk about why criticism might feel different to autistic individuals and how to cope with it.

Have you ever had someone criticize you and noticed that it really hurt? Have you found yourself thinking about a conversation or interaction with someone who criticized you over and over (and over) again? Have you ever been criticized for something you don’t think you did and can’t stop thinking about how unfair that is? 

Criticism can be painful for anyone, but for autistic people criticism can happen more often, can be more painful, and can have longer impact than it does for neurotypical people. Dr. Partovi will share tips, tricks and tools to manage criticism when it does happen to you. As usual at AASCEND meetings, attendees on the autism spectrum will offer their experience and perspectives throughout the program. 

Diana Partovi is a clinical neuropsychologist and Founder of California Neuropsychology Services. She received her clinical training at the VA Health Care System and UCSF and is an Assistant Clinical Professor at UC Berkeley. She specializes in adult assessment of Autism, Attention Deficit & Hyperactivity Disorder, Learning Disorders and other neurological differences.

Dr. Partovi is an advocate for neurodiversity in the workplace. She gives over 100 presentations every year to companies (big and small) on neurodiversity, mental health, burnout, caregiver stress and several other topics.  

Who: Autistic adults, family members and professional who work with them are all welcome.
When: Sat Nov 16, 10-noon Pacific Time
Where: The Arc SF,  1500 Howard St at 11th St, San Francisco map

Contact info@aascend.org with any questions.

On November 2 AASCEND‘s Job Club presents, live via Zoom, Andrea Gerson, founder of Resume Scripter, as she shares key strategies for addressing employment gaps on resumes, introduces the AI-enabled RS Works platform for vocational rehabilitation, and performs a live resume makeover tailored to roles at Amazon and CVS. Andrea and her team at Resume Scripter have helped thousands of professionals land competitive roles at companies like Microsoft and Google. Discussion on resumes and hiring will be led by Dan Middleton, Job Club mentor, and Michael Bernick, Job Club facilitator.

As a social worker, organizational trainer, and workforce tech founder, Andrea Gerson has spent the past 15 years helping both job seekers and workforce agencies to improve the impact and accessibility of their career development efforts. Prior to this, Andrea spent six years as a career counselor with NYC workforce agencies, where she worked directly helping job seekers with disabilities and facing complex barriers to move into new roles. She and her team recently launched RS Works, an AI-enabled resume platform that helps underearning job seekers and their coaches to quickly create professional resumes. 

As usual at AASCEND meetings, attendees on the autism spectrum will offer their experience and perspectives throughout the program. 

Who: Autistic adults, family members and professional who work with them are all welcome.
When: Sat Nov 2, 10 – 11am Pacific Time
Where: Online via Zoom, link will be emailed.

Contact info@aascend.org with any questions.

Here is a video recording of the following presentation.

The October 19 AASCEND meeting via Zoom, will be a discussion of Autism co-occurring with ADHD. Our guest is Dr. Stacy Greeter, remarkable in being both a psychiatrist and autistic-and-ADHD herself. It’s hard to overstate the value of this rare dual perspective of both rigorous medical training and direct personal experience. Simultaneously with her remarkable accomplishments, Dr. Greeter’s concept of herself as an autistic and ADHD individual has evolved from one of brokenness and inferiority to acceptance and even celebration of the strengths of her AuDHD brain. Dr. Greeter will be interviewed by AASCEND co-chair Gregory Yates. This should be a fascinating and informative presentation on a topic AASCEND has been meaning to address for some time.

Stacy Greeter is board certified in both adult psychiatry and child and adolescent psychiatry, and maintains a group practice in Sarasota Florida. She has extensive experience treating complex mental illness and unique family systems, with particular expertise in treating trauma-related disorders, ADHD, depression, PTSD, autism, anxiety disorders, schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Her approach is to combine the most current evidence-based medication treatment with taking the time to fully understand a person’s unique perspective, to ensure that they achieve the best results with the least medication.

Stacy graduated summa cum laude from Duke University, received her medical degree from UNC-Chapel Hill under the Morehead Medical Scholarship, completed her residency and fellowship training at Northwestern University, and has conducted research funded by the Howard Hughes Medical Institute on both autism and OCD.

You don’t want to miss this program!

As usual at AASCEND meetings, attendees on the autism spectrum will offer their experience and perspectives throughout the program. We’ll save time for questions.

Who: Autistic adults, family members and professional who work with them are all welcome.
When: Sat Oct 19, 10 – 11am Pacific Time
Where: Online via Zoom, link will be emailed. There is no need to register.

Contact info@aascend.org with any questions.

Here is a recording of the following presentation.

On October 5 AASCEND‘s Job Club presents Mary Lynn ReVoir, speaking online via Zoom on the current job market for neurodivergent people. Mary Lynn ReVoir has over 40 years of experience in finding jobs for adults with developmental differences. She will be interviewed by Michael Bernick, Job Club facilitator, and Job Club mentor Dan Middleton. She will discuss the range of providers available today to assist neurodiverse adults in finding employment, and how to maximize use of these resources.

                          

Employment Network Help owner Mary Lynn ReVoir, has had a career spanning over 40 years supporting people with a disability.  She began with delivering direct support services, and from 1979-2003 pioneered shifting the delivery system from state institutions to community based services in Minnesota and Iowa. After directing a related service agency for 18 years, she transitioned to the area of employment in 2003. While serving for over 10 years as a Disability Navigator for the state workforce agency, she became engaged with the Social Security Ticket to Work program. This work included providing technical assistance and training to hundreds of employment service providers, and development of two successful Employment Networks.  She has been recognized as a subject matter expert for the Ticket to Work program, and is a certified Work Incentive Practitioner through Cornell University.  Recently launching her own business, Employment Network Help, her mission is to support employment service providers to increase the employment rate for individuals with a disability, with the aim of lifting individuals out of poverty.  Read more about Mary Lynn and Employment Network Help at www.employmentnetworkhelp.com. 

As usual at AASCEND meetings, attendees on the autism spectrum will offer their experience and perspectives throughout the program. 

Who: Autistic adults, family members and professional who work with them are all welcome.
When: Sat Oct 5, 10 – 11am
Where: Online via Zoom, link will be emailed.

Contact info@aascend.org with any questions.

AASCEND‘s annual potluck picnic in the Park is coming up on September 21. All are welcome for an afternoon of informal socializing and games with our community. This year’s picnic will be held from noon to 3:30 at tables 7 – 9 in Hellman Hollow in Golden Gate Park. We will have food and drink, but bring something to share if you can. No RSVP is necessary. Set-up begins at 11:00 AM.

We look forward to seeing you—it’s always a lot of fun!

Who: Adults on the spectrum, family, professionals and friends all welcome!
When: Sep 21, noon – 3:30pm, setup at 11am
Where: Hellman Hollow, Golden Gate Park, San Francisco map   

Click here for pictures of AASCEND celebrating Autism Acceptance Day with the San Francisco Giants.

It’s been a few weeks of unexpected activity here at AASCEND. We had planned an in-person General Meeting on the usual 3rd Saturday of the month, but Covid caution has caused us to pivot our August program instead to celebrating Autism Acceptance Night with the San Francisco Giants in Oracle Park at 7:30pm on Friday August 30. The least expensive tickets are $38.10 (tickets at the above link), and there is a VIP option for the well-heeled of our members and general supporters of autism advancement. It’s a great chance to satisfy that hunger for a summer ball game while supporting autism acceptance!

ALSO,  free tickets  are now available for those who can’t afford the incredibly inexpensive $20 online admission to the 2024 Stanford Neurodiversity Summit, to be held September 22-24 hybrid in-person and online. Email info@aascend.org to be considered for a free ticket. The program is shaping up to be a very good one; you won’t want to miss it. Details are here (as above).

ALSO, Stay tuned for the  AASCEND picnic  coming up on Saturday September 21 in Golden Gate Park. Details to be announced.

The December celebration was a great success, and AASCEND received a proclamation honoring its quarter century of service to the autism community, courtesy of the California State Senate with Senator Scott Wiener presenting!

The hike was a fine success, starting off with the sharing of ancient documents about an AASCEND member’s ancestors who were themselves members of the very Legion of Honor on whose memorial steps we convened. The weather was superb, and it was free day in the Legion of Honor building itself, providing very welcome bathroom access! There was a lot of friendly conversation and high spirits. Here are some pictures from the day. We hope to see you at an AASCEND hike soon – they are a lot of fun!

Summer is here and it’s a fine time for a midsummer’s day hike together. This time AASCEND reprises an old favorite, the hike at Land’s End, but this time we’ll do it backward, and with a small historical surprise at the beginning. At 11am on Saturday July 20 we’ll meet by the entryway arch of San Francisco’s Palace of the Legion of Honor (see picture above). One of AASCEND’s members has ancestors in the actual Legion of Honor, and we’ll have the engraved documents on hand for folks to look at. From there we’ll hike to Land’s End, near where we have started the hike in past years. We’ll stop for a rest and snack there and then loop back.

NOTE: The walk meets at 11am, not the usual 10am AASCEND meeting time. We plan to sit down together to eat, so bring a lunch. The Land’s End Lookout Cafe may be open. It’s San Francisco, so dress accordingly!

It will be great to meet, walk, talk and celebrate Summer together. See you there!

Who: Adults on the spectrum, family, professionals and friends all welcome!

When: Saturday, July 20 2024 at 11:00 AM

Where: Palace of the Legion of Honor, San Francisco (X on map above) Follow 34th Avenue north into the golf course. You may have to park along El Camino Del Mar. It’s also an easy walk from the 38 Geary bus.