Our understanding of autism continues to evolve, and so does the range of students we see in schools. This professional development session offers an opportunity to revisit core concepts and current perspectives so you can start the 2026–2027 school year with a fresh, grounded understanding of where the field stands today.

The session will explore what autism is and how it is currently understood, how it presents in students, and key considerations for school-based identification and eligibility. Understanding these foundations shapes how professionals across roles recognize and respond to the students they serve.

Designed for SLPs, school psychologists, special educators, and administrators, this session is not specific to any single discipline. It is built around shared understanding and is relevant across roles, whether you are revisiting foundational concepts or deepening your understanding.

Laurie Thompson, PhD, CCC-SLP, is Director of the Communication Development Lab and an Associate Professor in the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at Washington State University College of Medicine. She earned her PhD from Florida State University and completed postdoctoral training in the Pediatric and Developmental Neuroscience Branch at the National Institute of Mental Health. A licensed speech-language pathologist, Dr. Thompson’s research focuses on communication and language development in young children at risk for or with neurodevelopmental disorders, as well as individuals with complex communication needs across the lifespan. Her work integrates assessment and intervention science to advance more precise, developmentally grounded approaches to measuring communication and improving how communication differences are identified, characterized, and supported in real-world settings.

This training will provide proven tips and tools to help participants prepare for and engage in challenging conversations both inside and outside of meetings. Through the use of active listening and effective questioning strategies, participants will learn how to find common ground, build stronger relationships, and move difficult conversations forward in a productive manner.

Topics will include:

•        Developing positive communication and collaboration skills

•        Examining problems from multiple perspectives

•        Understanding the critical difference between “interests” and “positions”

•        Clearly articulating concerns from staff and parents, especially when requests may appear unreasonable or unfair

•        Effectively responding to anger and strong emotions

Because many attendees participated in a similar training last year, this session will build upon that foundation and begin where we left off. At the start of the training, participants will engage in an interactive activity designed to help create the agenda for the day, ensuring that the session addresses their current challenges and provides practical tools they can immediately apply during the upcoming school year

Marc Purchin is the Principal of Purchin Consulting. The mission of Purchin Consulting is to empower individuals and teams to build more positive and productive working relationships through training, coaching, meeting facilitation, and mediation. Marc provides Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR) support to families and school districts throughout the country.

Marc is the proud author of Building Positive Parent and School Partnerships, a user-friendly book that creatively helps educators and families work together toward a common goal: supporting the success of every student. He has been invited to speak and provide training on the book at family empowerment centers, school districts, and conferences across the nation.

Focus: Practical tools for building emotional safety in classrooms

Includes:  The 3R Model (Regulate, Relate, Reason) Creating sensory-safe environments De-escalation scripts and co-regulation language. 

Presented by Stacy York Nation. As a professional speaker, I have delivered over 100 speeches/trainings in 7 countries, including the United States, Kuwait, Iraq, Syria, United Arab Emirate, Canada, and Tunisia, and  several States. My audiences have been as large as 1500 and a small as 3. I have delivered interactive trainings in person and virtually. I have been a keynote speaker. I have developed trainings as short as 30 minutes and as long as four 8-hour days. I have contracted with school districts, mental health agencies, and parent groups. I am known for engaging the audience, making content relevant, great stories, and using humor to teach. Participants always leave with skills that can be used immediately and are relevant for each setting-home, office, or school. Presentation topics include, but are not limited to: Trauma-Informed Practices in Classrooms, Mental Health and Education, Trauma and Resilience in Military Members, Brain-Based Strategies for Parents

The Executive Function Classroom: Practical Strategies That Strengthen Learning, Independence, and Engagement

Every classroom includes students who struggle to get started, stay organized, manage their attention, regulate emotions, complete assignments, or persist through challenging tasks. These behaviors are often viewed as motivation or behavior concerns, yet research increasingly points to a different explanation: many students are still developing the executive function skills needed to learn independently.

In this engaging three-hour professional learning experience, participants will explore the science behind executive function and discover how everyday instructional practices can strengthen students' working memory, cognitive flexibility, self-regulation, planning, organization, and self-monitoring. Join us to learn how executive function can be intentionally embedded into effective Tier 1 instruction, classroom routines, and learning environments.

Presented by Wristine Senecal served the East Helena School District for 15 years as a classroom teacher in kindergarten, 1st grade, 3/4th multiage, 4th grade and 5th grade special education and was the PreK-2nd grade instructional coach for 10 years. During her tenure in East Helena she served on the ELA and math curriculum committees and was instrumental in writing successful grant applications for the district. Wristine understands the processes of grant implementation and developing and maintaining a robust comprehensive improvement cycle. She has served in all capacities in this endeavor working effectively with administrative teams, building leadership teams, grade level teams, classroom teachers, support staff and paraprofessionals. Wristine is currently a consultant with STRIVE consulting group serving schools in Montana and Colorado with literacy grant implementation, instructional coaching mentorship, and professional development aligned with the science of reading. She also serves as an Acadience Training Specialist and provides professional development and implementation support to schools across the nation for Acadience reading and math assessments. Wristine owns By Example Instructional Consulting and has provided professional development for teachers on research supported instructional practices in reading, math, classroom management and positive behavioral support. Her passion is building relationships and working beside educators to inform, inspirit and inspire the work that they do.