Research demonstrates the effectiveness of Family-Centered Transition Planning in increasing student and parent expectations for adult life, student career decision-making, and student participation in employment and post-secondary education.  Tune in to learn the latest sustainable processes for implementing a Family-Centered Transition Planning model for youth and young adults with autism spectrum disorders.

Register:  https://www.autism.org/family-centered-planning-and-asd/

About the Speaker:  Alan Kurtz, Ph.D., is Coordinator of Education and Autism at the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies at the University of Maine.  He is a former special education teacher who now works at the Center for Community Inclusion and Disability Studies at the University of Maine.  Alan recently coordinated the implementation and research in Maine of a two-state project designed to provide family-centered transition-planning supports to youth with autism spectrum disorders (ASD).  He currently co-directs a similar project designed to make family-centered transition supports available on an ongoing and sustainable basis.  Alan was the lead author of three disability related curricula including The Maine Employment Curriculum and Quality Employment Supports for Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders.  Alan is a former board member of the Autism National Committee and former editor of that organization’s newsletter.  In 2008 he was named the Autism Society of Maine’s Professional of the Year in 2008. Additional honors include AAMR Region 10’s Annual Humanitarian Award in 1994 and the Vermont State Director of Mental Retardation Services Program of the Year Award in 1992.