2026 Mountain West Neurodiversity Conference
Keynote Speakers
Conference Schedule
(Subject to Change)
DAY 1 August 19, 2026:
7:30-8:00 Registration
8:00-8:15 Welcome and Introductions
8:15-9:30 Opening Keynote: Michelle Garcia Winner: How Can We Make Sense of “Spectrum”: Helping Individuals Get the Assistance They Need
Our students (and adults, clients), may have a range of diagnostic labels (e.g., ASD, ADHD, anxiety, etc.). To focus on the person and not their diagnosis(es), the Social Thinking–Social Communication/Characteristics Summary (ST-SCS) is a dynamic descriptive tool (not diagnostic!) to help interventionists better understand the learning nuances and potential needs of individuals with whom they live, work, and teach and how we can group students/clients to work on goals that are designed to support their learning system and potential learning needs. Based on 30+ years of clinical observations, dynamic assessments, and family input, this tool defines six distinct social learning systems, including strengths of the learner, type of teaching & supports that best fit the learning system, and prognosis. For younger students, the Group Collaboration, Play and Problem-Solving Scale (GPS) will provide guidance when helping young learners from 4–7 or 8 years old.
Objectives:
- Describe differences in a nuanced social communicator, an emerging social communicator, and a pre-emerging social communicator
- Explain why understanding a person’s level of social self-awareness and perspective taking is important when writing goals and working on activities that make sense to the student
- Define the purpose of the Group Collaboration, Play and Problem-Solving Scale (GPS)
9:30-9:45 Break
9:45-10:45 Session 1 Breakouts
Room A: Michelle Garcia Winner: Executive Functioning for Tweens and Teens:
By 4th grade, many students, without significant direct instruction, have learned strategies to foster executive functioning such as organizational skills, social problem solving, time management, and self-regulation of their actions and feelings based on the situation and the people. But there is a significant number of students in Tier 1, as well as Tiers 2 and 3, who do not—and it’s up to us as educators, caregivers, and therapists to provide supports and teaching. To accomplish this task in a manner that is motivating for students to explore, Jenny Sojat and I recently published a graphic novel, Brain Hacks: Strategies to Rally Motivation and Get Things Done (Even When We Don’t Want To). This colorful story is told by five teens who meet up online, develop a CREW of four characters who help to teach the power of metacognition, explore positive and negative feelings and emotions, rally motivation, recognize that life is more than awesome or awful through the use of the Like-Dislike Scale, define and explore executive functioning, as well as introduce the concept of mental time travel that explores past experiences and future desires and goals to guide what we do in the here & now, in addition to a range of other topics. Today’s talk will define core, practical concepts that motivated the creation of this story, then demonstrate how we teach these through this colorful and intriguing book. These lessons are ideal for neurotypical and neurodivergent tweens and teens.
Objectives:
- Explain the difference between feelings and emotions
- Define the Four Steps of Executive Functioning
- Describe what each of the four members of the CREW help to teach
Room B: Amanda Stonerock: Re-thinking PreETS for Social Relationship
This session examines how to design Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) programming that meaningfully addresses social connection, real-world interaction, and the practical challenges students face when navigating relationships during the transition to adulthood. Rather than focusing solely on compliance with required service categories, the discussion centers on how educators and providers can structure programming around the actual social situations students encounter—peer interaction, workplace communication, self-advocacy, and informal social norms. The session will provide concrete topics, frameworks, and program design strategies that transition educators can immediately apply, while grounding the conversation in real-life implications for students who must translate these skills beyond the classroom and into college, employment, and community settings.
Room C: Ben & Dan Hartranft: Benergy
Dan and Ben share with attendees a bit about their experiences with relationships and social development. Ben and Dan work on independent life skills together and these daily lessons have created a number of transferable takeaways.
10:45-11:00 Break
11:00-12:00 Panel: Neurodiverse Adults on Life and Relationships
MSU-B Autism Club members and special guest, Ben Hartranft, will offer honest perspectives on navigating social expectations, building and maintaining relationships, managing independence, and developing self-awareness over time. This panel will be moderated by Michelle Garcia Winner
12:00-1:00 Lunch
1:00-2:00 Session 2 Breakouts
Room A: Michelle Garcia Winner: Social Problem Solving for Age 4 through Elementary School Age:
Children are expected to learn how the social world works as well as how to problem solve in the social world. Through Social Thinking, we help to make the explicit implicit and to assist in this process, we have created 10 core Social Thinking Vocabulary that will be explained and defined. This vocabulary is helpful to use in the classroom and schoolwide. Problem solving is also an integral part of children’s school and home day. To help children explore different ways in which students are expected to problem solve, Dr. Pam Crooke and I created a three-book set that offers an array of 4-page problem-solving stories along with worksheets (Let’s Solve It! and We Solved It!) that are provided to help students work through the problem-solving process for each story, in a step-by-step manner. Ultimately, using a generic worksheet provided, the children learn to identify problems and solutions within their own life. This colorful visual tool is designed to unpack and engage younger children (ages 4–8) through 20 problem-solution story sets and related thinksheets to help kids work through a seven-step process. During this workshop, these concepts will be brought to life visually. A question-and-answer period will allow for discussion of how these concepts can be used with both neurotypical andneurodivergent learners.
Learning objectives:
- Identify and define three different Social Thinking Vocabulary and how these can be used across the school and home day.
- After reviewing one four-page problem-solving story, participants will explore each of the seven steps on the Let’s Solve It! worksheet.
- Participants will describe how they can use this same type of worksheet across the school and home day to help students work through a socially based problem they have encountered.
Room B: Ben & Dan Hartranft: Benergy
Dan and Ben share with attendees a bit about their experiences with relationships and social development. Ben and Dan work on independent life skills together and these daily lessons have created a number of transferable takeaways.
Room C: MonTECH: AT Tools for Neurodiverse Learners
Education is a fundamental right, but creating equitable access for neurodiverse learners means providing the right tools. Join MonTECH for hands-on exploration of technology to support communication, sensory processing, executive functioning, and more! Whether you are an educator, student, or caregiver, discover how to use universal design and assistive technology to create more inclusive opportunities for all learners.
Objectives:
- Discuss how Universal Design can help support all learners
- Identify 3 areas in which neurodivergent learners may need individualized support
- Explain features of at least 3 assistive technology tools to support learners
2:00-2:15 Break
2:15-3:30 Closing Keynote: Ben Hartranft: Benergy
Ben Hartranft shares his story and perspective on his life with autism. Truly approaching every situation with kindness and love Ben has helped raise money for autism research while also being a case study himself. Ben found himself in the limelight when he made it on the Ellen Show for all the hard work he does speaking out for autism.
DAY 2 August 20, 2026:
7:30-8:00 Registration
8:00-8:15 Welcome and Introductions
8:15-9:30 Opening Keynote: Ross Greene: Kids Do Well if They Can
This is the mentality of the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) model, and it is contrasted by the Kids do well if they wanna mentality that underlies a lot of interventions for kids with concerning behaviors. Kids do well if they can propels caregivers into examining the problems setting the stage for concerning behaviors rather than defaulting to behavior modification procedures.
9:30-9:45 Break
9:45-10:45 Session 1 Breakouts
Room A: The Rural Institute for Inclusive Communities: Kari Tarter and Katie Neskey: Partnering with Families to Build Connections: Aligning Home, School, and Community for Meaningful Relationships
Families play a central role in supporting their child’s relationships, yet they are often asked to navigate multiple systems—school, healthcare, and community services—that may not always align. This can lead to mixed messages, duplicated efforts, and missed opportunities for meaningful social connection.
This session focuses on how professionals and families can work together as partners to support relationship-building across settings and throughout key life transitions. Participants will explore how to prepare students for changing social expectations in middle school, high school, postsecondary settings, and employment, while also considering what families and community members need to know to reinforce these skills outside of school.
The session will introduce different types of peer learning and natural supports, with an emphasis on how families can help identify and sustain these opportunities in everyday environments. Practical strategies will be shared to improve communication, reduce overwhelm from “too many programs, too many messages,” and better coordinate supports around family priorities and student goals.
Attendees will leave with concrete tools to strengthen family–professional partnerships, streamline supports, and promote consistent, relationship-centered approaches across home, school, and community.
Learning Objectives:
By the end of this session, participants will be able to:
- Describe ways to meaningfully partner with families to support relationship-building and social development across home, school, and community settings.
- Explain different types of peer learning and natural supports and identify how families can help foster and sustain these connections in everyday life.
- Implement strategies to coordinate services and communication across providers and families, reducing duplication and aligning supports with family priorities during key transitions.
Room B: Mandi Gibbs, Anette Gorton: OPI Dispute Resolution: Parents as Partners: Promoting Collaboration in Special Education
This session equips participants with the knowledge and practical skills needed to implement effective parent engagement practices in special education. Grounded in IDEA requirements and evidence-based family engagement research, emphasis is placed on translating best practices into actionable strategies tailored to participants’ school contexts. Through guided reflection, applied scenarios, and collaborative discussion, participants will identify barriers to parent engagement and develop practical, school-based solutions aimed at improving student outcomes.
Room C: Ross Greene: Collaborative and Proactive Soulutions (CPS) Model for FBA / BSP Session 1
In this session, Dr. Greene will provide an overview of the Assessment of Skills and Unsolved Problems, an instrument that helps caregivers move beyond kids’ concerning behaviors and toward identifying the skills that contribute to maladaptive frustration responses and the unsolved problems (unmet expectations) that are causing those responses.
10:45-11:00 Break
11:00-12:00 Panel: MSU-B Autism Club: Navigating School, Work, and Life as a Neurodiverse Adult
Panelists will discuss the realities of managing expectations, building independence, and developing strategies that have supported success throughout their lives. Attendees will gain practical insight into what helps, and what gets in the way, so they can better support meaningful, sustainable outcomes for neurodiverse individuals. This panel will be moderated by Dwight Welch
12:00-1:00 Lunch
1:00-2:00 Session 2 Breakouts
Room A: TBD
Room B: Linda Mass, Marvin Williams, Kathleen Nerison: OPI Dispute Resolution: Collaboration by Design: Tools for Meaningful Family Participation in IEPs
This session provides practical strategies for designing IEP processes that support authentic family participation. Grounded in IDEA requirements and family engagement research, participants will learn how to move beyond compliance to create collaborative, student-centered meetings. Emphasis is placed on intentional planning, effective communication, and tools that position families as equal partners in decision-making.
Room C: Ross Greene: Collaborative and Proactive Solutions (CPS) Model for FBA / BSP Session 2:
In this session, Dr. Greene will provide an overview of the problem-solving process of the CPS model (called Plan B), and of the necessity of placing some expectations on hold for now (Plan C).
2:00-2:15 Break
2:15-3:15 Closing Keynote: Ross Greene: Collaboration is the Intervention
Dr. Greene will summarize the important shifts to existing practices provided by the CPS model: focusing on problems rather than behaviors; intervening proactively rather than reactively; solving problems collaboratively rather than unilaterally; the definition of good teaching (meeting kids where they’re at, with each student as their own reference point), and the imperative to be attuned to the developmental variability inherent in every classroom.
3:15-3:30 Wrap up
Event Sponsored by:
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Montana Center for Inclusive Education
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OPI Montana Autism Education Project
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Rural Institute Family 2 Family Program