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Developmental Disabilities and Human Services (DDHS), a program within the UMass Amherst Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences in the College of Natural Sciences, will host a 2024 Spring Summit focusing on neurodiversity and disability studies on April 26 from 1-4 p.m. in Furcolo Hall and online via Zoom. The event is free and open to the public.

This first spring summit organized by the DDHS program will feature a poster session of undergraduate and graduate student projects, oral presentations from alumni and adjunct faculty, a keynote presentation and discussion. It will conclude with breakout groups focused on advocacy.

Capria Berry, lecturer and instructor of the UMass Amherst course Disability Identity: Intersections of Race, Gender, and Sexuality, will deliver the welcome address. Berry is also assistant director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Scholars Program at New York University and a doctoral student in Higher Education Leadership at Colorado State University.

Ariel Pliskin, instructor of the autism class at UMass Amherst and the relationship and sex therapy program manager at Advance Psychotherapy Practice in Amherst, will present “Neurodivergent Sex,” a review of research on autistic sexuality and gender.

Griffin Leistinger, assistant director of accessibility resources and services at Hampshire College, will present, “Becoming the ‘Proper’ Disabled Student: How Academic Access is Negotiated in the Classroom.” Leistinger also teaches disability policy-focused courses at UMass Amherst, including International Disability Policy, Disability Advocacy and its History and Special Topics in Disability Policy.

Autistic writer, editor, consultant, speaker and activist Jennifer Brunton will give the keynote presentation, “Self-Advocate, Advocate, Ally, Accomplice: Coming Together to Create New Paradigms around Neurodiversity.”

Undergraduate and graduate students are invited to present a 4’x6’ poster on a disability or neurodiversity related topic. Projects can include theses, research studies, independent studies, course projects, creative projects and more. Posters submitted to the conference organizers will be printed at no cost to the student.

For more information on the summit, presenters, poster entries and registration, visit the Neurodiversity and Disability Studies Summit webpage or email DDHS Program Director Ashley Woodman at awoodman@umass.edu. For more information about the Developmental Disabilities and Human Services program, visit the DDHS website.