Parents, children, therapy and education: Best practices for an improved quality of life. Life for people on the Autism Spectrum after 18 years of age! 2 - 5 November 2018 Ajax Hotel Limassol - Cyprus ! ! 2nd Annual Cyprus International Conference on Autism Treatment and Research. Neurodiversity, Individuality and Opportunities for Life: 360 Support, Best Practices, and Shared Synergies 17 – 21 November 2017 Ajax Hotel Limassol – Cyprus ! Organized by Magic Always Happens Inc. & Magic Always Happens Cyprus Supported by Holy Archbishopric of Cyprus Magic Always Happens Cyprus Cyprus Tourism Organization Published by: Magic Always Happens Inc. Synopsis of International Scientific Contributions by Luminary experts: 360 Support – Best Practices – Shared Synergies & Autism ! ! ! ! Actions Not Words Love Autism3rd 2ndAnnu Annualal Cyp Cyprusrus Int erInternationalnational Co nConferenceference on onAu Autismtism TreTreatmentatment and and Rese Research.arch. Editor: Neophytos Papaneophytou, PhD Design: Carmella AuricchioNeurodiversity, Parents, chil Individualitydren, therap yand and Opportunities education: for Life: Issued: November 2017 B360est pSupport,ractices Bestfo r an Practices, improve andd qua Sharedlity of Synergies life. Life for people on the Autism Spec trum after 18 years of age! 17 – 21 November 2017 Ajax Hotel 2 – 5 November 2018 Limassol – Cyprus Ajax Hote l Limassol – C yprus ! ! Organized by Magic Always HappensOrganized Inc. & Magicby: Always Happens Cyprus Magic Always Happens Inc. & Magic Always Happens Cyprus SupportedSupported by: by HolyHoly Archbishopric Archbishopric of Cyprus of Cyprus MagicMagic Always Always Happens Happens Cyprus Cyprus CyprusCyprus Tourism Tourism Organization Organization Published by: Magic Always Happens Inc. Published by: Magic Always Happens Inc. Magic Always Happens Cyprus Synopsis of International Scientific Contributions by Luminary experts: Synopsis of360 Inter Supportnationa –l Best Scie nPracticestific Con –tr Sharedibution Synergiess by Lum i&na Autismry experts: Life for people on the Autism Spectrum after 18 years of age! Actions Not Words ActionsLove Not AutismWords Love Auti sm Editor: Neophytos Papaneophytou, PhD Editor: NeophytosDesign: CarmellaPapaneophytou Auricchio, PhD Design:Issued Carmella: November Auricchio 2017 Issued: October 2018 Dear Friends and Colleagues, It is a great pleasure and an exceptional honor for me to welcome you to our 3rd Annual Cyprus International Conference on Autism Treatment and Research “Parents, children, therapy, and education: Best practices for an improved quality of life. Life for people on the Autism Spectrum after 18 years of age!” This year, our scientific works will focus on “Life for people on the Autism Spectrum after 18 years of age”. This approach encapsulates support through best practices and shared synergies. We, at Magic Always Happens, Inc., and Magic Always Happens Cyprus, are very proud of our hard-pro- social work, and scientific contributions to date. We continue our work internationally, fuelled by our unrelenting wish to see our proposed Cyprus International Center for Autism Treatment, Diagnosis, Education, and Research, materialize in the first instance. As you may recall, with the support of our think tank comprised of leading world experts, we had presented our scientific study for the creation of the aforementioned International Center during our 2016 and 2017 international conferences. More specifically we presented solid scientific work on the architectural end of the study, bringing us a step closer to the establishment of our proposed Center. This year we are proud to share that we have safeguarded land in order to erect the first part of our International Center. The land, located in Anogyra village, (an area located on the outskirts of Limassol) is ideal for our International/Multilingual Assisted Living Center, based on scientific best practices. The Center’s architectural project will be designed according to the 18+ Autism Spectrum population in mind! Just like with our previous conferences, we are happy to welcome our luminary experts from around the globe. Experts who support our goals and are happy to share their work and research with us. Let us once again emphasize the transdisciplinary nature of our international conference supported by applied, scientific research conducted by leading experts establishing best practices around the world! We remain thankful to each and every one of our experts for their participation and active contribution to our global think tank. Among other essential issues to be discussed during our 2018 conference are issues pertinent to family issues, education, living with AS after 18 years of age, individuality, and best practices. Our primary goal is to continue to offer support to people on the Autism Spectrum, to their families, supporting and lifelong educators. Once again, special attention will be given to the needs and nature of issues having to do with people on the spectrum who are 18+ years of age. This international conference integrates plenary sessions, hands-on workgroups, and workshops, poster sessions, as well as in vivo group support to parents of people with autism. Our 1-day “meet and greet” luncheon with local parents, led by a Greek-speaking psychologist during our 2016 conference had allowed us to build upon that experience. Interested local parents will benefit from a listening ear, support, guidance, and practical ways to cope with the day-to-day issues offered by some of the World’s finest scientists. We will further enhance this seminar and in the months to come to offer more assistance on the applied level to our people with autism, in Cyprus, and internationally. The contribution of our think tank to this and other efforts remains priceless. We look forward to meeting with everyone during our 2018 international conference and as always, we welcome your thoughts, contribution and feedback. As a reminder, please note that Magic Always Happens, Inc., (an IRS tax-exempt organization) and Magic Always Happens Cyprus, as well as our think tank, are non-profit organizations, registered in their respective countries of origin (USA & Cyprus). We welcome strategic alliances, international collaborations, intercontinental research, publications and all friends who wish to support our noble goals in our pursuit of excellence. As emphasized during our previous conferences, we remain particularly interested in collaborations promoting best practices, continuous research and to the advance of applied solutions, in order to help people of all ages on the spectrum. In fact, this year we are preparing our first international publication, a book entitled “Autism 360” to be published by early 2019 (Elzevir publishers). This book will offer support to a plethora of people including teachers, parents, doctors, experts as well as non-experts. Our goal is to offer education, support, enable understanding of the global issues we are all faced with, based on best practices and the most up-to-date research. As the Conference Chairperson and Scientific Committee Coordinator I welcome you, and I look forward to meeting with you all during our conference and beyond. " Neophytos (Neo) Papaneophytou PhD, LMHC, LPC, NCC, DCC Conference Chairperson Scientific Committee Coordinator [email protected] +1-646-239-1048 (USA) www.autism360cy.com Magic Always Happens Cyprus Trustees Neophytos Papaneophytou – Founder & President Stavroulla Demetriou – Accountant Christos Neocleous – Secretary Oratios Ierodiakonou - Trustee Melanie Antoniou - Trustee Conference Chairperson: Neophytos (Neo) Papaneophytou, PhD Conference Scientific Committee: T. Berry Brazelton, MD (May 10, 1918 – March 13, 2018) We thank all local, national and international clubs and associations for their love and support and our international Think Tank comprised by luminary World Experts in their respective fields. Organizing Committee: Magic Always Happens Inc. Magic Always Happens Cyprus www.magicalwayshappens.org Conference Secretariat: ML Smart Events Name: Michael Loullis Carmella Auricchio Tel: +357 25355480 Fax: +357 25370795 E-mail: [email protected] Acknowledgements/Thanks To: The Conference Organizing Committee, Magic Always Happens, is thankful to the following companies/organizations for their kind support and direct sponsorship: Holy Archbishopric of Cyprus Cyprus Tourism Organization Kalogeropoulos Travel & Tours Ltd ML Smart Events We remain thankful to Team Magic, our team of athletes, running the classic Athens Marathon on an annual basis for autism awareness and support of all people on the autism spectrum. We thank all local, national and international clubs and associations for their love and support as well as all the parents and attendees. CONFERENCE PROGRAMME Friday, 2 November 2018 7:00 – 8: 15 PM Press Conference & Cocktail Hour (No formal dinner!) 8:30 PM Dinner by invitation only (All speakers & Trustees) Saturday, 3 November 2018 9:00 9:45 AM Gil Tippy, PsyD., Meaningful Transition Services in A Rapidly Changing World of Work 9:45 – 10:00 AM Gil Tippy Q & A 10:00 AM – 10:45 AM James Connell, Jr. Ph.D., Services for adult transitions into post-secondary education and workforce 10:45 – 11:00 AM James Connell Q & A 11:00 – 11:30 AM Coffee break (own provisions) 11:30 – 12:15 PM Natalia Neophytou MSc. (Med/Biokinetics), The perceptions and expectations of parents, teachers and caregivers on the current motor assessment tools available for individuals with Autism Spectrum