Scott Kramer, an autistic adult and program director of the GCA Centre for Adult Autism (Centre), will be launching the first adult autism conference east of the Mississippi River. The Inaugural Tri-State Adult Autism Symposium Conference is the first autism conference east of the Mississippi to focus fully on adult autism themes (employment, independent living, social relationships, health and wellness, and research). The conference will be taking place on Saturday, July 22, in Chattanooga at Red Bank Baptist Church, 4000 Dayton Blvd.
Mr. Kramer talked with about 25 executive directors in the disability community from Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama. "The overwhelming responses that the directors gave convinced me that I had found a 'gold mine of an opportunity' to reach out to the adult autism community in those three states." Formed with the idea of building community, Mr. Kramer recognized the need for this type of conference. "Countless numbers of autistic adults never had their social needs met in childhood, so those needs exist to this day. What this conference does is have social networking events take place the day before and day of the conference. By doing so, the social needs of these individuals can be better met."
"Approximately one to one and a half percent of this country's population is autistic. According to the U.S. Census Bureau in 2015, just over 77 percent of the country's population is at least 18 years of age. With a population of just 22 million people in the states of Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama, roughly 190,000 autistic adults live in the area that the conference is focusing to serve," officials said.
For more information, contact Scott Kramer at 423-598-9516 or by email at Scott.Kramer@chattanoogaautismcenter.org.