Since 1999 the Institute on Disability (IOD) at the University of New Hampshire has presented the Autism Summer Institute (ASI), a conference for families, educators, community service providers, and self advocates. The 2011 ASI theme is Everybody Reads, Everybody Writes, Everybody Has Something to Say. This integrated literacy and communication theme recognizes that far too many students and adults with autism have not been provided with high-quality literacy instruction or with a means to communicate if their spoken voice is not effective. This theme will be addressed through four strands over the course of the three-day conference:
A strand for parents and educators of young children in preschool through second grade;
A strand for parents and educators of students third grade through high school;
A first-ever strand specifically for autistic adolescents and young adults (organized by the Autistic Self-Advocacy Network); and
A contemporary topics strand offering a variety of topics representing current and emerging issues
