What is Autspace 2019?
Autspace 2019 is the 2019 conference of the Association for Autistic Community (AfAC).
(AfAC's first two conferences in 2014 and 2016 were simply called "the AACC", for "Association for Autistic Community Conference". AACC 2016 participants told us that we really needed to give the conference a better name :-). So starting in 2018, our conference is called "Autspace".)
Autspace is a conference/retreat of, for, and by Autistic people, in the tradition of Autreat (in the US) and Autscape (in the UK). More about what that means, here.
When will it be held?
Thursday afternoon August 15, 2019 thru Monday morning August 19, 2019.
Where will it be held?
Tamarack-Butzel Retreat Center, Ortonville, MI -- about 40 minutes' drive from Detroit Metro Airport (DTW), and accessible from Interstate 75. By car, it's about 5 hours from Pittsburgh, 4 hours from Chicago, Cincinnati, or Toronto, 9 hours from Washington DC.
What is on the program?
Formal presentations
Click here and here to see presentation descriptions from prior years.
Click here to see the list of formal presentations for this year.
Click here to see descriptions of this year's formal presentations.
Informal activities. This year we are seeking informal activity ideas (and leaders). There's a form on the Call for Presentations (link above) for submitting informal activity proposals, as well as one for submitting formal presentation proposals.
Informal evening sessions. At Autspace 2018, we had a Glow Party (following an expedition to a dollar store in town to score some Glowing Things!), an evening of comic dramatic readings, and a literary event featuring a short story read by its author. And we had games and puzzles and pattern block design extravaganzas and s'mores around a campfire ...and more!
Plenty of time to meet others, relax, walk the campus, swim, shoot hoops, play shuffleboard or volleyball
How do I register to attend?
Registration is now open for Autspace 2019! Register here. If you have any questions about registration, use the contact form on AfAC's new website, or email autspace@autisticcommunity.org .
By when do I need to register?
July 31, 2019. The venue will need final headcount for meals very soon thereafter.
How much does it cost to attend?
Fees are posted on our registration page. Aside from bus transportation, we were able to keep fees the same as for Autspace 2018.
If you don't have a full-time job that pays a living wage, you qualify for our low-income rates. Scholarships will be available upon committee review and per day rates will be available upon request -- email autspace@autisticcommunity.org to inquire about either.
If I am traveling to the conference by air, which airport should I fly to?
Detroit Metro (DTW).
Where do I go to find / share ground transportation?
We have made arrangements for a bus to make one airport run from/to DTW on our date of arrival and one airport run on our date of departure. The cost will be $35/person each way. If wheelchair users need ground transportation from the airport or bus/train station, we'll arrange for a vehicle that can accommodate their wheelchairs.
The registration form asks whether you'll be planning to book a seat on the bus for either trip, in order to gauge demand and to ensure that we have vehicle capacity. That question does not automatically book you on the bus. To book a seat on the bus, click here.
We will be contacting all registrants to coordinate ground transportation -- to coordinate airport arrival and departure times in order to mesh with scheduling of the Tamarack-Butzel vehicle's airport runs, and to pair people driving to Tamarack-Butzel or renting a car at the airport with registrants who need rides.
We will be looking for drivers as well as riders!
If you can drive and rent a car at the airport, we want to match you up with other attendees who will need a ride from the airport to the conference and vice versa. Riders will help defray the costs for car rental, gas, and tolls.
Same goes for people driving all the way to the conference. Riders will help defray the costs for car rental, gas, and tolls.
Where can I get additional questions about Autspace 2019 answered?
Email autspace@autisticcommunity.org with questions.
We've set up an announce-only Google Groups mailing list, which you can join if you want to be notified whenever the information in this FAQ is updated.
Click here to join that mailing list (if you're not already a member), or to view the list archives (if you are already a member).
(You'll be asked to sign into Google, if you're not already signed in. If you don't have a Google account, you can get one (for free) by clicking on "Sign in to view this group", then clicking on "Create Account" on the next page. That will take you to the Create Account page. Be sure to click the link that says "I prefer to use my current email address" on that page.)
We will also set up a Facebook group for attendees. Contact Sarah Pripas-Kapit at autspace@autisticcommunity.org to be added to it.
What can I do to help, if I can't go to Autspace 2019 myself?
The Association for Autistic Community (AfAC) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt organization. Contributions to AfAC are tax-deductible, and will be used to fund scholarships and to build an endowment to underwrite the overhead costs of this and future AfAC conferences. AfAC's tax identification number is 46-4237730. To contribute via Paypal or credit card, click here:
Another way to support the Association for Autistic Community and Autspace is to use our Amazon Smile link when shopping at Amazon: https://smile.amazon.com/ch/46-4237730 -- doesn't cost you any more, but causes Amazon to donate 0.5% of your purchase price to the Association for Autistic Community.
Also, this year we are inaugurating a sponsorship program -- for community partners who would like a presence at the conference so that attendees may become more familiar with the work that they are doing. Details are on AfAC's new website, at http://autisticcommunity.org/sponsorship/.