We arrived in Toronto on Wednesday... late. As I expected, I started talking about something on the 401 and completely forgot to get off on the 427. But, now, I know a guy who knows a guy on the Westside of Toronto who makes a great falafel. Thank goodness, Kristy Korea was able to keep me sane. And, force me to laugh now and then. The best jokes are born out of increasingly stressful situations. Just ask Groucho Marx. We managed to get checked into the hotel by 9:30pm. Feeling hungry and deserving of a beverage, we went to a place called Jack Aster's. We chose that bar, because nowhere else near by seemed open. Geeesh, there were at least five TVs in every square foot in the place. Thumping music blaring. And, all I wanted was a sandwich. I ordered a basket of bread. We left, returning to the hotel. The Strathcona, built in the 1940s, has been refurbished to look kind like an Ikea showroom. The room is simple, but that is all we need. By the time I fell asleep, I was already missing my daughters. However, not as bad as when I went across the country to San Francisco.
On Thursday, I woke up early. Showered and hit the pavement (after dressing, Canada is liberal but not THAT liberal). I made a promise to myself I would utilize this conference to upmost. I got to see the introductions by the IMFAR, Autism Speaks, and the Simons Foundation representatives. Then I was able to catch the keynote speaker, Ruth Feldman speak on Bio-behavioral Synchrony and the Development of Social Reciprocity. Then I sat in on an Invited Educational Symposium about Friendship in ASD throughout the Lifespan. That cluster of discussions included: The Beginning of Friendship- Friendship in Preschoolers with HFASD, Using Parent Supervised Play Dates to Improve Peer Relationships for Elementary School Children with HFASD, Friendships in Adolescence: Developmental Challenges in Those with ASD, and Friendships and Social Activities in Individuals with ASD in Adulthood. After, I had my photo taken with the other grantees. The representatives for Autism Science Foundation have been very friendly throughout these couple of days. Again, I would like to express my gratitude for the opportunity this granted provided. And, John Elder Robison for posting the link which motivated me enough to apply.
After a pizza break, I went back for the award ceremony. I would like to say I snuck Kristy in so she could have somewhat of an idea as to how I am spending while she had the opportunity to explore Toronto-- but I would never do that. I found Susan Folstein to be someone I would like to know more about. Her work with twin studies and ASD parents with ASD children are very close to home. I absolutely LOVE that Temple Grandin took the time to emphasize more work be done on sensitivity issues. Mostly, because that is THE main thing I feel is most important to the person with ASD themselves. Sure, in a social world one has to learn to socialize and communicate. But, that is difficult to even consider when you are being bombarded by sensory issues. And, if more research is to be done on sensory issues, we have to move a little further out of the nursery with our test subjects.
We returned to the hotel for some pub food and an early bedtime.
I woke up this morning early enough to see Susan Daniels from the NIH. That was informative. Tracking the data and the funding. Something more concrete to soak in. How much are they spending on autism research? Now I know where to look, www. iacc.hhs.gov. Michael Lake from the Canadian Parliament then gave a few words of encouragement to the field of research. After that, I got to listen to Bernie Devlin speak about the Common and Rare Genetic Variants in the Etiology of ASD. Even when I was studying the basics of neuropsychology, I always found myself drawn to the biology of the codes animo acids to build the enzymes needed to regulate EVERYTHING in our body. He was pretty engaging. Next I sat on a symposium focusing on Biology-based Classifications and Predication in ASD: Promises and Pitfalls. It included: Critical Clinical Needs in Classification and Prediction in Older Children, Adolescents, & Adults with ASD, Analysis of Imagining Patterns Using Pattern Recognition Methods, and Cognitive Neuroscience Approach to Early Identification of Autism. I, unfortunately, didn't stay for the last presentation. I needed some lunch.
After lunch I bopped around a little between conference rooms to catch a bit of things all happening at the same time under the catchalls of Core Symptoms and Early Developmental Processes and Trajectories in ASD: Infant and Toddler studies. The presentations I saw were as follows: Developmental Course of Symptom Severity in Preschool Children with ASD, Assessment of Social Communication in Infants a High Risk for ASD, "Sticky Attention" in Autism, Developmental Trajectories of Attention to Social & Non-social Events as a Function of Chronological & Mental Age in Children with ASD, ASD Toddlers Present Deficits in Their Ability to Track Social Cues of Others, Measuring Interactive Developmental Pathways in ASD, Unique Acoustic Characteristics of Children with ASD, and Motor Development and Its Relation to Cognitive and Language Development in Children at High Risk. Next, I attended an update on the DSM-5 recommendations. Packed! With all the controversy surrounding the changes that was what you could consider the peek of drama at a research conference. Everyone handled themselves well, though. The final block of presentations for the evening were a scientific panel focusing on the Challenges for Children with ASD in School. The first focused on transitions into school age after early interventions and on teacher/student relationships. I found this timely considering the issues I have been having with the girls preschool teacher AND that I am in the process of setting up meetings to choreograph the girls' transition into kindergarten. Next in the line up was a presentation on Academic Engagement of Minimally Verbal Children with ASD in School. I wanted to get a little insight into other ends of the spectrum, especially if I plan on doing more work within my community. After that? DINNER.
I am now listening to Kristy Korea tell me about her trip to the Toronto Art Museum, trying not to be too jealous. We'll go to dinner now, maybe heading out for more pub food and early bed. I plan on going to one Special Interest Group at 7am tomorrow morning focusing on the female profile in ASD. Then, time to head home.
I have been taking copious notes. I will share more information and opinions once I am home. I think the drive back will be better, now I have the route in my head and just need to flip it. I can't wait to see the girls, and give them the little dresses I bought them. I have spent little money, which is good. I have been able to focus on the conference without too much distraction. But, I will have to come back to Toronto again soon. I feel like I should have extended myself to more people here. But, I didn't. I was able to navigate all the baby powder, banana, and coffee breath odors. I let people bump into me without completely losing it. All in all, good trip.
I apologize for any typos or sentence fragments. I am writing this on a foreign laptop in a foreign room in a foreign (but western) city. More later.
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