AANE's landmark 2023 Virtual Jody Acford Conference will include live and recorded presentations on public and private benefits, services, and supports available to adults on the spectrum for residents in Massachusetts, New York, and nationwide. Conference topics include financial planning and guardianship alternatives, healthcare, housing, vocational supports, social security, and more!
New this year! Schedule a free one-on-one video conference call to have your benefits related questions answered. These limited appointments are only available to conference registrants from January 18 - April 30, 2023.
COST: AANE Non-Member $50 / AANE Member $40 - Contact development@aane.org
Register Non-Member ($50) Register Member ($40)
PLEASE NOTE: For those who plan to attend the conference, the AANE webinar: 2023 Update: How to Find Public Benefits Programs to Support Autistic Adults in Any State is a free, must-watch introduction to public support programs and acts as a guide to the information being shared across the two days.
Thank You to Our Platinum Conference Sponsors! Learn more about all our sponsors here.
Day 1 - MARCH 25: NATIONAL SESSIONS
*11:00 AM - 4:00 PM* Eastern Time
Day 1 Conference Agenda
Click the titles below to learn more about each presentation.
Becca Lory Hector, Director of Training, AANE
Becca Lory Hector is the Director of Training at AANE. She was diagnosed on the autism spectrum as an adult and has since become a dynamic autism advocate, consultant, speaker, and author. Becca has published multiple articles and books about life on the autism spectrum with the goal of spreading acceptance, building understanding, and encouraging self-advocacy. The creation of her international, grant-approved, virtual course for autistic adults, “Self Defined Living: A Path to a Quality Autistic Life”, is allowing her to help improve the lives of autistics.
A Conceptual Roadmap for Understanding Benefit Programs for Autistic Adults
Michele Cantara, Neurodiversity Training Specialist, AANE
This session introduces you to the "roadmap" metaphor that is used throughout this conference to orient attendees to the different types of public benefit programs available to autistic adults who do not have a diagnosis of intellectual disability. This session helps attendees navigate through the other sessions in this conference as well as their benefits journey.
Michele Cantara, AANE Neurodiversity Training Specialist is the mother of an autistic young man who is an aspiring aeronautical engineer and currently works part-time. Michele spent 35 years in the high-tech industry, and she’s been at AANE since 2016. Previously at AANE, she was Co-Director of Adult Services. Now at AANE, she applies her consulting and change management skills to webinars, conferences, community training, parent coaching, and support groups at AANE. Michele works with adults over 22 and their families and often handles questions about public benefit programs, as well as civil and criminal legal issues.
Best Practices to Follow to Qualify for Disability Benefit Programs
Moderator: Michele Cantara, AANE Neurodiversity Training Specialist
Panelists: Kate Collins-Wooley, PhD
Autistic adults that don’t also have a diagnosed intellectual disability have to work with their medical providers and other treaters to craft a very compelling “disability story” to meet the eligibility requirements of most public benefits programs. That story must paint a picture of how their disability significantly impairs their ability to function in daily life, school, work, and/or in the community.
In this panel session, agency eligibility specialists and advocates outline the do’s and don’ts of telling an effective “disability’ story” and increasing the chances of being deemed eligible.
Kate Collins-Wooley, PhD is a psychologist in private practice in Hingham, MA. For the past 22 years, she has been a medical consultant to Disability Determination Services, a division of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC), which evaluates medical and vocational eligibility on behalf of Social Security. Kate has spoken widely about benefits for adults with disabilities and has written several articles for AANE on this topic. Kate currently sits on the Program/Conference Committee as well as the Strategic Planning Committee at AANE. She is the parent of an adult with ASD.
Maximizing & Retaining Public Benefits while Working or when you have Some Assets
Moderator: Michele Cantara, AANE Neurodiversity Training Specialist
Panelists: Raymond A. Cebula, III, Director of YTI Online, Cornell University
You can work and receive Social Security and Medicaid under certain circumstances, but you also need to:
- know how to take advantage of Social Security Work Incentive Programs.
- make sure you aren’t working so much that you become ineligible or reduce your benefit payments.
- understand how your living arrangements, in-kind support from your family, and impairment-related work expenses (IRWEs) affect your benefit payment amount.
- get some ideas for minimizing taxes on trusts, shielding assets from needs-based benefits programs, to stretch resources for your adult child after you’re gone.
- understand and follow through with your responsibilities as a benefit recipient to maintain program eligibility.
In this session, a national expert and Social Security Disability Advocate, Financial Planner, and Disability Benefits Counselor share facts and strategies for maximizing and retaining benefits.
Raymond A. Cebula, III received his J.D. from the Franklin Pierce Law Center (now the UNH Law School) in 1982. He spent a total of 23 years working with legal services providing direct representation to individuals with disabilities having legal issues with the SSA. He became part of Cornell University’s Work Incentive Support Center in 2000, and in January of 2005, Ray was brought on staff at ILR's Yang-Tan Institute on Employment & Disability where he now serves as the Program Director of YTI Online (Cornell’s Work Incentive Practitioner credentialing program). While with YTI he has provided training and technical assistance to Youth Transition Demonstration projects across the country, served as Director of Training and Technical Assistance for the NYS Medicaid Infrastructure Grant and continues to serve as a team member for the Technical Assistance Team of the National Training Center of VCU providing technical assistance benefits planners in SSA Region 1. Ray is also the President of the Board of the National Association of Benefits and Work Incentive Specialists (NABWIS)
Becca Lory Hector, Director of Training, AANE
DAY 2 - MARCH 26: MA & NY SESSIONS
*9:00 AM - 3:30 PM* Eastern Time
Day 2 Conference Agenda
Click the titles below to learn more about each presentation.
Massachussettes Sessions
Michele Cantara, Neurodiversity Training Specialist, AANE
The Basics of SSI/SSDI for Autistic Adults in MA
Kate Collins-Wooley, PhD
When competitive employment is not an option, most will turn to Social Security for disability benefits -- either supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). This session will summarize these benefits and cover the adult Social Security application process.
Kate Collins-Wooley, PhD is a psychologist in private practice in Hingham, MA. For the past 22 years, she has been a medical consultant to Disability Determination Services, a division of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC), which evaluates medical and vocational eligibility on behalf of Social Security. Kate has spoken widely about benefits for adults with disabilities and has written several articles for AANE on this topic. Kate currently sits on the Program/Conference Committee as well as the Strategic Planning Committee at AANE. She is the parent of an adult with ASD.
Housing 101 - Massachusetts
Cathy Boyle, President, Autism Housing Pathways
This presentation is “Housing 101.” It introduces families and individuals to the range of Massachusetts and federal funds available to pay for housing and supportive services. Some examples are given of how these can be combined with private funding to create housing opportunities.
Cathy Boyle is the president of Autism Housing Pathways, a non-profit organization that works with people with developmental disabilities and their families to identify housing options. A commissioner of the Winchester Housing Authority, and a member of the Winchester Housing Partnership Board, she has successfully completed 60 hours of HUD housing counseling training. Cathy holds a certificate of graduate studies from UMass Boston in adapting curriculum.
Health Insurance for Autistic Adults in Massachusetts
Amy Weinstock, Director of the Insurance Resource Center for Autism and Behavioral Health at the UMass Chan Medical School’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center
This presentation discusses healthcare coverage for adults on the spectrum. It also includes information about private Insurance, keeping a dependent on a parent’s policy, public health insurance such as Medicaid and Medicare, and how Social Security affects health insurance coverage.
Amy Weinstock is the Director of the Insurance Resource Center for Autism and Behavioral Health at the UMass Chan Medical School’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, and an instructor in the medical school’s Department of Psychiatry. She has an extensive background on insurance issues related to autism and has played a key role in passing several significant pieces of autism insurance legislation in Massachusetts, including the groundbreaking 2010 law requiring health insurance to cover medically necessary treatment for autism.
Legal Planning & Alternatives to Guardianship in Massachusetts
Barbara Jackins, Attorney Legal Planning for Special Needs and Meredith H. Greene, Attorney, Day Pitney, LLP
This workshop will focus on estate planning, which is important to ensure an adult child of long-term financial security and to make sure that financial systems are in place to protect both assets and any benefits an adult may be receiving. The workshop will also discuss alternatives to guardianship that are appropriate for adults with Asperger profiles.
Barbara Jackins is an attorney in Lexington, MA. For over 40 years, she has been assisting people with disabilities and their families with guardianship, housing, special needs trusts, and public benefits. She has written several books on disability-related topics, most recently Legal Planning for Special Needs in Massachusetts: A Family Guide to SSI, Guardianship, and Estate Planning (2017); Managing a Special Needs Trust: A Guide for Trustees (co-author with Ken W. Shulman and Richard S. Blank, 2020), and Moving Out: A Family Guide to Residential Planning for Adults with Disabilities (co-author with Dafna Krouk-Gordon, 2013). Barbara is the parent of an adult son with special needs.
Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC) Employment & Other Support Services for Autistic Adults
This session is an orientation to MRC Connect – a single application process and integrated support team that guides individuals with disabilities through the process of applying for and utilizing vocational, home care assistance, supported living, and traumatic brain injury services.
Becca Lory Hector, Director of Training, AANE
Adult Autism Services from the Massachusetts Department of Developmental Services (DDS)
Recorded presentation: Maria Stefano, Autism Program Coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Development Services Metro Region
This session will discuss Department of Developmental Services (DDS) eligibility criteria as well as services available for adults with autism spectrum profiles through the DDS.
Maria Stefano, Autism Program Coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Development Services Metro Region, helps to support adults with autism. In working with DDS area, regional, and central offices, she maintains and shares information and resources, conducts presentations, collaborates on the design and implementation of new autism services, arranges training opportunities, and serves as a liaison to schools, service providers, and other state agencies.
New York Sessions
Becca Lory Hector, Director of Training, AANE
Becca Lory Hector is the Director of Training at AANE. She was diagnosed on the autism spectrum as an adult and has since become a dynamic autism advocate, consultant, speaker, and author. Becca has published multiple articles and books about life on the autism spectrum with the goal of spreading acceptance, building understanding, and encouraging self-advocacy. The creation of her international, grant-approved, virtual course for autistic adults, “Self Defined Living: A Path to a Quality Autistic Life”, is allowing her to help improve the lives of autistics.
Looking to the Future: Housing Options for People with Developmental Disabilities
John Maltby, Co-Director of New York Housing Resource Center
The session will address why the certified group home system is no longer desirable or sustainable. It will outline the steps that a person with a developmental disability and their family might take in order to create a long-lasting, fulfilling, safe and healthy home. The session will also highlight ways in which people with developmental disabilities and their families can advocate for improved systems and broader housing opportunities.
John Maltby spent 36 years on Wall Street before leaving the industry in 2007. He graduated with an MS from the Columbia University School of Social Work in May 2009. He served as the Director of Community Supports and Services at Westchester Institute for Human Development in Valhalla, NY and as Assistant Professor, Institute of Public Health at New York Medical College. He has taught as an Adjunct Professor at Columbia University in both the Business school and the School of Social Work. John's particular focus for the last several years has been on providing housing options for people with developmental disabilities. He is the author of the Housing Resource Guide, the Report to the Housing Task Force and What Happens When I'm Gone. All three publications are designed to be accessible to people with developmental disabilities and their families, their advocates, professionals who provide support and to policymakers. John is the creator of the Housing Navigator training program and co-director of the newly created Housing Resource Center. John is an advocate for his son and for all people with disabilities and has served on local and national boards of provider and advocacy agencies for many years.
The Basics of SSI/SSDI for Autistic Adults in New York
Kathryn Collins-Wooley, PhD
When competitive employment is not an option, most will turn to Social Security for disability benefits -- either supplemental Security Income (SSI) or Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI). This session will summarize these benefits and cover the adult Social Security application process.
Kathryn Collins-Wooley, PhD is a psychologist in private practice in Hingham, MA. For the past 22 years, she has been a medical consultant to Disability Determination Services, a division of the Massachusetts Rehabilitation Commission (MRC), which evaluates medical and vocational eligibility on behalf of Social Security. Kate has spoken widely about benefits for adults with disabilities and has written several articles for AANE on this topic. Kate currently sits on the Program/Conference Committee as well as the Strategic Planning Committee at AANE. She is the parent of an adult with ASD.
Applying for and Accessing Services from the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD)
Briana Stewart, LMSW/DDPS2, Eligibility Unit Leader, Finger Lakes & Western NY, Daniel R. Smith, Kathryn A. Donaghue
This presentation provides a brief overview of how to access services from the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities. We will discuss the Front Door Process, eligibility review steps, and supports/services.
Health Care Coverage for Adults with Autism
Amy Weinstock, Director, Insurance Resource Center for Autism and Behavioral Health, UMassChan Medical School
This presentation discusses healthcare coverage for adults on the spectrum. It also includes information about private Insurance, keeping a dependent on a parent’s policy, public health insurance such as Medicaid and Medicare, and how Social Security affects health insurance coverage.
Amy Weinstock is the Director of the Insurance Resource Center for Autism and Behavioral Health at the UMass Chan Medical School’s Eunice Kennedy Shriver Center, and an instructor in the medical school’s Department of Psychiatry. She has an extensive background on insurance issues related to autism and has played a key role in passing several significant pieces of autism insurance legislation in Massachusetts, including the groundbreaking 2010 law requiring health insurance to cover medically necessary treatment for autism.
ABLE Accounts in New York
Jenna McClosky, Outreach Coordinator and Administrative Analyst, NY ABLE and 529 College Savings Program, Office of the State Comptroller
The NY ABLE Program is a tax-advantaged savings program for individuals with disabilities and their families to save for their current or long-term needs while maintaining their ability to benefit from federal benefits programs such as SSI, SSDI, and Medicaid. This program offers multiple investment options, including a checking account and debit card option, allowing individuals with disabilities to maintain their independence and have quick and easy access to their own money. The NY ABLE team from OSC and Ascensus will be discussing program highlights such as:
- Who is eligible for NY ABLE
- How you can save and grow or grow your money with a NY ABLE account
- What Qualified Disability Expense is
- How to sign up
Jenna McClosky, Outreach Coordinator for NY ABLE and has been with the program for two and a half years. Jenna started with NY State in 2015 and was working in the non-profit field for several years prior to that.
Becca Lory Hector, Director of Training, AANE
ACCES-VR:
- Your Journey to Employment Begins Today - ACCES-VR is the New York state vocational rehabilitation services agency. This on-demand webinar from ACCES-VR describes the range of services the agency offers to disabled adults. https://vimeo.com/483375715
- How to Apply for ACCES-VR - ACCES-VR is the New York state vocational rehabilitation services agency. This on-demand webinar explains how to apply for vocational services in New York. https://vimeo.com/483376397