In her talk, Rachel Rosner explores the way in which accepting people for their varied abilities and skills will allow us to live better, happier lives. In comparing the journey of raising an autistic child to the journey to Hogwarts experienced by Harry Potter, Rachel helps us find a pathway to optimism in our interactions with the world. Rachel Rosner is the Director of Education and Support and starting her sixth year at AutismUp. She graduated from Syracuse University with a degree in Education. Prior to her work at AutismUp, Rachel worked at the JCC for eighteen years. She spends her days supporting and educating families, and consulting with schools and businesses to work towards full inclusion.
Her current projects include the creation of a 24-hour HelpLine for families with an autistic family member. As the parent of two children with autism, supporting and educating families and the community is the perfect intersection of Rachel’s professional expertise and personal passion. Her favourite quote, “It is our choices, Harry, that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities,” said by Albus Dumbledore, reminds her that we can make a conscious choice to treat others with kindness and compassion and that we can decide every day to make a difference in the lives of others.

Do child prodigies have a form of autism? In the Prodigy’s Cousin, Joanne Ruthsatz and Kimberly Stephens propose a startling possibility: what if child prodigies’ abilities stem from a connection with autism? Drawing on Ruthsatz’s years of original research, they trace this long-hidden connection from shared cognitive traits, like heightened attention to detail, to a true genetic link. This inspiring story of extraordinary children, determined parents, and a researcher’s unorthodox hunch is essential reading for anyone interested in brain and human potential.

The un- and under-employment rate among college-educated autistic adults is around the 80% mark. And no, that zero isn’t a typo – approximately 4 in 5 autistic adults with a college degree is either not working or doing a job far below their education level (ex: janitor with a PhD). The bad news is that the impacts of this reality ripple across our society, negatively affecting everything from the economy to our collective social well-being. The good news is that there are actionable steps that businesses can take to address autistic unemployment and begin to turn the tide towards inclusive, better-for-the-bottom-line employment practices.

In this talk, autism self-advocate Claire Barnett presents the current state of autistic unemployment, lends a personal perspective on the hiring process, and shares insights that will help any business recruit and employ neurodivergent talent.

Claire Barnett is a 2019 cum laude graduate of Vanderbilt’s Peabody School, with a Bachelor of Science in Human and Organizational Development. She now works as the Communications Coordinator at Vanderbilt’s Frist Center for Autism and Innovation. Claire is an autism self-advocate and proponent of the neurodiversity movement. Last year she founded the Vanderbilt Autism & Neurodiversity Alliance (VANA) and wrote a disability advocacy column for the Vanderbilt Hustler. She is also a passionate photojournalist and spent two of her three years as an undergraduate student as the Photography Director of the Hustler. In addition to neurodiversity advocacy and photography, Claire is also fascinated by politics and has completed two internships for Senator Lamar Alexander and two internships through the White House Internship Program. She hopes to spend her career doing some combination of photography and writing, autism advocacy, and government service.