Registration for The 2016 ICI Autism Summer Institute Now Open

One of the most popular events each year for many typers and their families is the annual Autism Summer Institute conference hosted by the Syracuse University School of Education’s Institute on Communication and Inclusion. This year’s event will be held on Tuesday July 26 – Thursday July 28, at the Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel in Columbia, Maryland.

The Institute on Communication and Inclusion is committed to ensuring that all people have a way to communicate and participate meaningfully in society. Their Summer Institute is an opportunity to meet, type, talk, discuss, laugh, and learn with individuals who type to communicate, families, educators, and professionals from across the country and around the world, by participating in workshops, sessions, and panels from a wide range of individuals with disabilities, researchers, and practitioners.

2016 ICI Summer Institute Event Details

The theme of the 2016 Summer Institute is “Communication is More Than Speech: Building Inclusion Through Typing,” and will feature:

• Paula Kluth, inclusion consultant and author of We Never Thought You’d Ask: Voices of People with Autism, Joyful Learning: Active and Collaborative Learning in the Inclusive Classroom, and more
• Ralph Savarese, poet, Professor at Grinnell College, and author of Reasonable People: A Memoir of Autism & Adoption
• A panel of individuals who type to communicate including Grant Blasko, Sujit Kurup, Kayla Takeuchi, and Jamie Burke
• Hands-on skill-building workshops for typers and support people at all levels
• Three days of concurrent sessions on research, practice, music, movement, relationships, and more
• Planned recreational and wellness activities in retreat-like setting of Columbia, Maryland!

For those of you that have never attended one of these conferences and would like to find out more about what to expect at one, visit the ICI 2014 Summer Institute Materials page, where you can browse selected presenters’ presentations and materials, including outlines and materials from keynote addresses, presentations, and the hands-on workshops. This will give you a good overview of the type of information you will receive.

Conference Registration Fees

NEW THIS YEAR – EARLY BIRD DISCOUNT! Register before June 1 and receive $50 off for the first person in your group. Registration costs are:

• $300 per person ($350 after June 1). This includes 1 free facilitator or support person per paid typer
• Additional family/team/group members are $250 per person, up to 5 per registration
• This year, a $75 non-conference attendee rate is also available. This is for those planning on accompanying attendees to Columbia, but will not attend sessions or trainings, and covers:
  • Breakfast each day
  • The conference reception
  • Additional activities like the drum circle, guided yoga, and lunchtime movie screenings

  Visit the ICI Summer Institute’s webpage for easy online registration, conference schedule and session information, hotel room block information, and information about the Columbia, Maryland area. Or, click here to go directly to the event registration page.

  Accommodations

  Centrally located between Washington D.C. and Baltimore, the Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel‘s location in Columbia’s unique city center offers all the convenience and amenities of an active downtown within the serenity of 12 wooded acres. The hotel is just a short drive from the Baltimore Washington International airport and close to multiple Metro Stations, which provide easy access to Baltimore and our nation’s capital. A hotel room block is available at the Sheraton Columbia Town Center Hotel in Columbia, MD until June 28, 2016. To get the discounted group rate, you must use this booking link. Please note that the room block is available from Sunday, July 24 to Thursday, July 28. If you would like to make a room reservation outside of those dates, please contact Ashley Cluster at 410-423-8907. If someone in your group has sensory/sound concerns, it is suggested that you request a room in The Lodge section of the hotel.