attended by 25,000 people in 2025!
confidently support autistic kids
Help autistic kids communicate and thrive without pressure, power struggles, or compliance-based tactics.
Join 35+ neuroaffirming speakers for our free, 4-day virtual experience designed to share the exact strategies, frameworks, and tools you need to help autistic kids with confidence.
august 10-13, 2026 | FREE & Virtual
Register for free!
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You believe in child-led practice. But without the strategies, tools, and resources to actually do it, most of us end up:
The Child-Led Autism Summit is where "I believe in this" becomes
"I know exactly how to do it."
Whether you're brand new to the idea of child-led practice or you've been implementing it for years...
The Child-Led Autism Summit will renew your confidence and remind you why you got into this work in the first place.
feeling frustrated wondering whether a truly child-led approach is even possible in our setting.
defaulting to old strategies because we aren't sure what to replace them with.
second-guessing whether or not we're "doing enough" to support our autistic students.
This is not generic information you can find online. Our presenters are sharing exactly what they've learned from supporting autistic children over the years.
A deeper understanding of what autistic kids actually need.
insight from those with lived experience.
You can't be neuroaffirming without listening to autistic adults. Their lived experience is paramount and will be centered at this event.
practical strategies you can use right away.
From a goal writing system that takes just minutes to a framework that makes child-led in a group possible, your mind will be blown by what we've got to share.
the knowledge you need to explain your approach with confidence.
Whether you're talking to a parent who expects traditional therapy or an IEP team that's not sure about child-led practice, you'll have the language and the evidence to back up what you believe.
everything you need to feel confident
Right now you're going home drained, writing goals that don't reflect what you actually do, wondering if you're truly helping your autistic students.
After The Child-Led Autism Summit, you'll have a way of practicing that finally matches what you believe, and the energy to keep doing it.
You'll walk away with:
35+ voices who are going to change how you show up for autistic kids.
the best of the best
To choose our speakers, we asked:
Not just the people talking about child-led practice; the ones living it, teaching it, and advocating for change.
The autistic adults who can tell us what it felt like to be on the receiving end of support that missed the mark, and what it looks like when someone finally gets it right.
Here's what you can expect from our hand-picked lineup of experts:
Who's doing this work in a way that's building a brighter future for autistic kids?
the shifts we'll make together on day 1:
We can't change how we show up for autistic kids until we rethink what we were taught in the first place.
Day 1 goes back to the beginning: what we believe about autism, progress, behavior, play, assessment, and support, so we can build something that finally fits the kids in front of us.
Redefining Success, Support, and What It Means to Truly Show Up For Autistic Kids
day 1, august 10:
This is where compliance gives way to real connection.
From measuring compliance
recognizing real growth
From changing the child
changing how we show up
From a child who performs
a child who connects
Meet our day 1 speakers :
We can't understand a child while we're still busy correcting them.
Day 2 is about trading correction for curiosity, tuning into sensory needs, nervous systems, and what kids tell us through their actions, their interests, and the things they love.
Supporting Regulation, Relationships, and the Child Beneath the Surface
day 2, august 11:
the shifts we'll make together on day 2:
This is where managing behavior becomes understanding it.
From managing behavior
From directing the child
From pushing through dysregulation
to understanding what it means
to partnering with them
to confidently co-regulating together
Meet our day 2 speakers :
Our kids are already communicating. Day 3 is about learning to see all of it, the AAC, the gestalts, the scripts, the movement, the sensory ways kids show us who they are. When we stop waiting for communication to look one particular way and start honoring every form of it, we aren't "giving kids a voice." We're finally hearing the ones they've had all along.
Honoring Every Voice, Every Communication Style, and Every Way of Being
day 3, august 12:
From "teaching" communication
to recognizing it
From prioritizing speech
to honoring all modalities
From a one-size-fits-all approach
to truly individualized support
the shifts we'll make together on day 3:
This is where every kind of communication is truly accepted.
Meet our day 3 speakers :
Everything we believe is only as good as what we do with it on Monday morning. Day 4 is where child-led practice walks out of the session and into the classroom, the team meeting, the IEP, the whole world around the child. Because the goal was never to change one session; it's to build places where autistic kids don't have to change who they are to belong.
Creating Child-Led Change Beyond the Therapy Room
day 4, august 13:
From knowing better
From a few good sessions
From asking kids to fit the system
to building systems that honor all kids
to doing better
to change that lasts
the shifts we'll make together on day 4:
This is where good intentions become real change.
Meet our day 4 speakers :
This summit is for you if:
You've been feeling like something about the traditional model isn't working, even if you're not sure what to replace it with yet.
You're already practicing child-led and you want to go deeper, get sharper, and connect with others who are on the same path.
You want practical tools, not just philosophy. The "how" alongside the "why."
is the child-led autism summit for you?
You support autistic kids in any capacity, whether you're an SLP, OT, educator, BCBA, para, therapist, parent or caregiver.
meet your host
Hi, I’m Nicole Casey, The Child-Led SLP
I've spent twelve years working with autistic children and the professionals who support them.
I created this summit because I spent the first several years of my career feeling like I was doing it all wrong.
I was pulling out flashcards for kids who wanted nothing to do with them. I was writing goals I'd copied from a bank because I didn't know what else to do. And I was going home at night wondering why none of it felt right.
It took me years to find the people, the research, and the frameworks that changed how I practice. I don't want it to take you that long.
This summit is my way of putting everything I wish I'd had into one place and handing it to you for free. Because I believe that when professionals get the right support, kids get better care. And that's the whole point.
soo glad you’re here!
Is this summit really free?
You'll have 24-hour access to each day's presentations.
I'm completely new to this, will I be lost?
What if I can't watch every session live?
Will I earn CEUs for this event?
Who is this summit for?
What is the All Access Pass?
You'll receive more information once you register for your free ticket.
got questions? we've got answers
Maybe you're wondering:
compassion, not control. connection over compliance. compassion, not control. connection over compliance. compassion, not control. connection over compliance.
Autistic kids are counting on professionals like you.
You already care. That's why you're still reading.
Now let us give you the tools, the strategies, and the community to turn that caring into confident, meaningful support.
Four days. 35+ speakers. Thousands of professionals learning alongside you. All for free.