“Going the Distance” Event Review: Profound Autism Summit at the Boston Marriott Burling
- Jeffrey Snyder
- Apr 15, 2024
- 3 min read
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Following my promotion of “School Safety Drills and Autism” on April 3rd up in Newton, MA, I next travelled up to Burlington, MA for the Profound Autism Summit that was hosted by the Profound Autism Alliance based in the Boston Metro Area.
Now, this is going to be slightly different from the previous review in Newton whereas instead of doing a training, I was running a table for the Doug Flutie Jr. Foundation for Autism. Of course, I wanted to do whatever I can to help make Flutie successful and that includes manning tables as needed.
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To give you a little context of the Profound Autism Summit, this was a conference hosted by the Profound Autism Alliance based in Boston, MA for families and caregivers of those who are profoundly neurodivergent (if I labeled anyone, I apologize) and who need 24/7 care for the rest of their lives. You can also say that this was a summit for families of individuals who are profoundly neurodivergent but have some level of success (such as having a job or taking public transportation), although they will still need 24/7 style care in various areas.
Fortunately, I have not been able to be like some of those families affected by profound autism, but attending this conference made do quite a bit of thinking in regards of whether or not that profound neurodiverse families could benefit from what I have to offer at “Going the Distance.”
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Sitting amongst all the organizations that were in Burlington made me think that there could be something profound neurodivergent families can learn from such as if the student in public school or if the family can’t seem to find a way to connect with the individual.
I mean, dealing with someone who is profoundly neurodivergent is a job in itself. Eventually, we have to accept that individuals who are profoundly neurodivergent might never achieve the levels we either expect or not such as living on their own, having a job or even having a social network. Every single one of the people who attended the summit were in that boat.
But these families never give up and I don’t give up on them. This is why I look at someone affected by profound autism and say to them that there is always something to be achieved. This is the case with Patrick Linehan, a neurodivergent artist and member of the Flutie Foundation’s spectrum of sound. The fact that he is an artist and being in a group of other neurodivergent singers is a sign that he has achieved the accomplishments that were on his level.
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The truth of the matter is that there many profound neurodivergent families that need resources to turn to help them cope with the challenges and the fears that they have. I feel that being amongst this summit might have given me a possible new audience to share my trainings with. I mean, we all want what is best for our loved ones and it’s not easy having limited resources.
I mean, how else do we feel when we struggle with bringing our neurodivergent loved ones to say the doctor’s office or to a house of worship or even why they love material that will otherwise be more suited towards younger children? Well, I do offer those trainings because no matter how small, you can help loved ones achieve that goal that you want to help them seek.
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Navigating neurodiversity is never easy and I continue to feel that events like the Profound Autism Summit sends a message that there are places for families to turn to if they need the resources. Autism will continue to be a part of our society and culture whether we like it or not and it’s up to those like me or who attended the summit to keep those resources coming.
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Catch you all later!!
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