For the first time, the Autism Society National Conference was held in Dallas Texas. From July 8 through July 10, those people affected by Autism, educators, doctors, speech pathologists, physical therapists, parents and those individuals diagnosed with an Autism Spectrum Disorder came together to learn, talk and network with each other.

For me, being the mother of a 14 year old son with Asperger Syndrome, I looked forward to going to the conference, not only to catch up with old friends, but to make new ones as well. Even though tragically more and more children are being diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorders, at times it feels like we parents are few and far between, making an opportunity like this one special.

Upon arriving at the Hyatt Regency Downtown, the first thing on my mind was to meet up with old friends. Hugs and greetings were everywhere as old friends were catching up with each other. None of us had to ask what one friend meant when she mentioned how nice it was to be with “people who get it.” We all felt the same.

Wednesday night was the pre-conference check in. Luckily I was staying at the same hotel as the conference which made it easier for me.

The conference started off bright and early Thursday morning with an opening keynote presentation entitled “The Obama Administration’s Efforts on Autism,” which was given by Kareem Dale, Special Assistant to the President for Disability Policy and Sharon Lewis, Commissioner of the Administration on Developmental Disabilities. This was the only keynote presentation that I was able to attend during the conference and was disappointed in the speech. I felt the presenters fell short of answering key questions most of the audience members had. It felt as if they were brought there for show and we were supposed to be more impressed by who they were and where they worked than what they actually had to say. I could tell by the Q&A session that audience members were not getting their questions answered.

I decided my disappointment in this first keynote address was not going to dictate my experience for the rest of the conference. After the keynote presentation, we could choose where to go next. Session options included options such as teaching play and leisure skills, employment for individuals with Autism and behavior modification. All three days of the conference followed this pattern of keynote address then session breakouts.

During our short breaks, we were encouraged to walk through the exhibit hall and talk to the vendors from all over America. The vendors offered items like gluten and casein free foods, t-shirts, books and jewelry. It was a smorgasbord of information and it was wonderful! Never in my wildest dreams had I ever believed I would get as excited to go to an Autism Conference as much as I did a favorite concert. It was a wonderful experience to see this many people gathered together for one common interest… Autism.

It gave me hope to know the world my son and others with Autism Spectrum Disorder would grow up in a better informed world.