Self-Advocate Stories
Utilizing high school booster clubs during post-secondary transition. A case study. — James Williams
Recording
ResourceSheetCoP5.1.25
Williams_Spring 5.1.25 COP Slides

All special education students will legally age out of special education in high school after reaching a certain age, but no one legally ages out of attending athletic events at their former high schools. Meanwhile, most high schools have athletic teams that compete in scholastic sports, and some sponsor “booster clubs” that serve to provide volunteers for athletic events and raise additional funds for athletic teams. Listen to an autistic adult describe how membership in his former high school’s booster club helped him adjust to life after secondary education, and how high school special education teachers can utilize booster clubs during the post-secondary transition process.

Re-learning to advocate for with your child in adulthood.— Erin Miller
Recording available soon
ResourceSheetCoP5.1.25
Miller Slides CoP 5.1.25

Articles Erin referenced (they are no longer on the Internet, but are still the authors’ work)
Burritos and Cherry Pies
Respectfully Connected

Autistic Adulthood for people is very different from childhood. Now that said disabled person has grown up, there are 2 or more adults in the same house. With emotions running high, we need to start learning how to have constructive conflict.

A panel offering a perspective of learned experience from a parent to professionals — Andrea Elsmo ( Dane County Disability Unit), Tracey Stanislawski (Jewish Family Service, CoP ASD/DD Co-chair), Hannah Johnson (Place of Mind), Andrea Gehling (Supportive Strategies Consulting)
Recording
ResourceSheetCoP5.1.25
CoP panel presentation 5.1.25

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James Williams is an autistic self-advocate. He was first diagnosed with autism at the age of 3. He has served on the steering committee for the Wisconsin’s Community of Practice on Autism Spectrum Disorders and Developmental Disabilities since 2015. In addition, he has also been a member of Glenbrook North High School’s Booster Club since 2015.

Erin Miller is an autistic adult and newly minted member of the sandwich generation. In the disability sphere, she speaks up with today’s disabled students, older adults–and fills in the middle for her own generation. Erin wears many hats.

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This day is a partnership with Waisman Center’s University Center for Excellence in Developmental Disability and a number of individuals and organization leading the CoP ASD/DD. The purpose of the Community of Practice on Autism Spectrum Disorder and Other Developmental Disabilities (CoP ASD/DD) gatherings is to bring together diverse stakeholders from across the state to improve the formal and informal systems of services and supports for individuals with ASD/DD, their families, and the professionals who work with them.

Thank you to the Spring 2025 planning and implementation team: Eric Linn-Miller, Andrea Elsmo, James Williams, Katie Roberts, Erin Miller, Hedy Burke, Tracey Stanislawski, Tim Markle, Kristy Schroeder