2023 Jody Acford Conference Details

Becca Lory Hector, Director of Training, AANE

Becca Lory Hector is the Director of Training at AANE. She is also an openly Autistic Professional on a mission to close the disability gap in leadership by working with companies to attract and retain disabled talent. Becca was diagnosed autistic as an adult and has since become a dedicated autism and neurodiversity advocate, researcher, consultant, speaker, and author. Her work includes neurodiversity and disability consulting, autistic quality of life research, and the creation of a personal development course called “Self Defined Living: A Path to a Quality Autistic Life”.

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 and Kevin Liebkemann, Chief Counsel Legal Services New Jersey and Blaine Brockman, Attorney, Director of Darby Legal Assistance and Carly Ott, Self-Advocate, Board Member and Chair of the Autism Society of America’s Council of Autistic Advisors

Autistic adults that don’t also have a diagnosed intellectual disability have to work with their medical providers and other treaters to craft a compelling “disability story” to meet the eligibility requirements of most public benefits programs. That story must clearly convey 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, legal professionals, and advocates outline the “dos” and “don’ts” of building and coordinating an effective “disability’ story” with your medical providers and support network.

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.

Kevin Liebkemann is Chief Counsel for Disability Rights and Veterans’ Rights at Legal Services of New Jersey (LSNJ), a not-for-profit company providing free legal services to people who cannot afford representation. He has represented clients in Social Security Disability claims for 25 years and currently handles an active caseload of Social Security Disability cases at the ALJ hearing level through Federal District Court. He works with other advocates who identify needs for positive policy changes for people with disabilities, and then advocates for those changes. His practice area also includes advising clients concerning disability rights, work incentive programs, and veterans’ legal issues. Kevin gives presentations on how to properly and ethically document disability for groups of physicians and other clinicians at hospitals served by LSNJ’s Legal Assistance for Medical Patients program.

Blaine Brockman is an attorney and the Director of Darby Legal Assistance, a small Ohio not for profit corporation providing public benefits advice to people who cannot afford an attorney and advocating for vulnerable elders and people with disabilities. Previously, Blaine worked as a special needs and elder law attorney, for Brockman Legal Services and for Hickman & Lowder, Co. Blaine is active with community organizations that support the elderly and people with disabilities. He is the Chair of the Board of the ARC Ohio. He is Chair of the Board of APSI (Advocacy and Protective Services, Inc.), a non-profit corporation providing guardianship services to people with developmental disabilities. He is an active member of the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys. He is on the Board of Directors of the Ohio Coalition for Adult Protective Services.

Carly Ott, Self-Advocate, Board Member and Chair of the Autism Society of America’s Council of Autistic Advisors also serves on several committees and task forces. She was the recipient of Autism Society of America’s Volunteer of the Year in 2018 and the Bob Beggan Award for Professional Mentorship in 2020. She was the first Autistic president of the Board of Directors of Autism Society Ventura County and served in that role for six years. Upon getting her Autism diagnosis and re-entering society after years on Social Security Disability, she worked her way up from paying bills to a Senior Vice President/Business Architect for a major national bank, serving as a leader in their Neurodiversity and Disability ERG efforts. Her advocacy passion relates to women and girls with Autism, as well as working with employers to shift the culture to enable a more diverse and inclusive workplace for employees with Autism.

Can I Work and Can I Save while Receiving Benefits?
Moderator: Michele Cantara, AANE Neurodiversity Training Specialist
Panelists: Raymond A. Cebula, III, Director of YTI Online, Cornell University and Cynthia Haddad, Managing Partner Affinia Financial Group and David Goldfarb, Arc of the United States Director of Long-Term Supports and Services Policy

You can work, have savings and still qualify for Social Security, Medicaid, and other means-tested public benefit programs. This session explains:

• how income, assets, living arrangements, and in-kind support from your family affect eligibility or benefit amounts.
• Social Security Work Incentive Programs (WIP) and protections for your health insurance benefits should you lose Social Security cash benefits.
• the pros and cons of SSI vs. SSDI for those who continue to work.
• how Medicaid “Unwinding” may affect your health insurance or Waiver Services.
• the basics about ABLE accounts, and special needs trusts and how these supplement public benefits in ensuring your future.

In this session, a national expert and Social Security Disability Advocate, Financial Planner, and Disability Advocate 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)

Cynthia Haddad is a Certified Financial Planner Professional and a Chartered Special Needs Consultant. She is a founding partner and wealth advisor at Affinia Financial Group in Burlington, MA. As a financial professional and sister and advocate for her brother Ron, who has developmental disabilities, Cindy has dedicated her career to serving families like her own. She is a nationally sought-after speaker on planning for families of individuals with disabilities and co-author of the groundbreaking book, The Special Needs Planning Guide, now in its 2nd edition.  

David Goldfarb is the Director of Long-Term Supports and Services Policy at the Arc of the United States. Prior to joining the Arc, David spent nearly 8 years at the National Academy of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA), where he oversaw NAELA's advocacy initiatives. He currently co-chairs the Disability and Aging Collaborative and the Consortium for Constituents with Disabilities (CCD) Social Security and Financial Security Task Forces. He began his public policy career as the Economic Policy Fellow for Senator Bill Nelson of Florida.

Becca Lory Hector, Director of Training, AANE