M.Ed. candidate in EPOL-Higher Education and autism advocate Kelly Searsmith gave an invited talk on Nov. 22 titled "Autism & Neurodiversity: Reimagining the Strengths of the Human Spectrum" with co-presenter Prof. Laura DeThorne of Western Michigan University at the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's annual convention in Orlando, Florida.

The talk helps medically-oriented practitioners to reframe their approach to autism therapies using a social model of disability and to understand the importance of adopting an assumed-competency, strength-based, and person-centered perspective.