The Penn Stater Conference Center Hotel held its annual National Autism Conference last week, a showcase for autism professionals to learn about current research and earn continuing education credits.

During the week, more than 2,000 conference participants attended more than 100 presentations, Penn State Outreach Conference Planner Katie Friedman said.

“The aim is to get the latest evidence-based information to educators, providers and families so that those people can effectively educate their students and children,” Friedman said.

Presentations on the spectrum of autism disorders were introduced from 9 a.m. until 4:15 p.m. with exhibits on display throughout the day. Presenters were selected by the Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN). Topics ranged from girls growing up with autism to sex education for autistic children, Friedman said.

Dr. Janet Graetz, assistant professor of human development and child studies at Oakland University in Michigan, presented a session on her study that followed 19 college students with Asperger’s syndrome.

Graetz found that students living with Asperger’s exercised less, had high anxiety levels and failed to take advantage of campus disability resources as the school year went on. She stressed the importance of teaching independence in high school to students with disorders like Asperger’s syndrome.

“Students in high school must be taught self-advocacy,” Graetz said. “The best thing you can do for your student who is younger is to teach them about self-advocacy.”

Graetz said she enjoyed learning about what Pennsylvania schools are doing to improve the educational experiences of students with autism.

This year’s keynote speakers were both autistic, Friedman said.

The opening speaker, Brian Adams, discovered he was autistic when his son was diagnosed with the same disease. The closing speaker, Deborah Lipsky, delivered a humorous speech intended to motivate with her stories from her life, Friedman said.

Sessions offered could be used for four types of continuing education credit. Participants paid a fee to earn these credits from the Penn State College of Education, Friedman said, and people interested in gaining credit from a distance were able to do so online.

The Penn Stater offered Children’s Institute daycare services to about 100 children attending the conference, both autistic and not. A play was performed by the older children for the younger ones on Thursday, Friedman said.

Some speakers were taped for live webcasts from the Penn Stater. Viewers had to pay a fee to receive credit for watching, but the webcasts are free for others. Some school districts played the videos for staff members for continuing education credit, Friedman said.

“If people can watch [the webcasts] at home in their pajamas, then great,” Friedman said.