You are invited to submit abstracts for presentations at the APAC 19 Thriving with Autism Conference to be held in Singapore from 20 – 22 June 2019.

Submissions will open on 1 October, 2018 and close on 31 December 2018.

Applicants will be notified of acceptance by end January, 2019.

The Conference Organising Committee particularly invites papers and participation from:

  • individuals on the autism spectrum
  • families, carers and advocates
  • academics and researchers
  • clinicians and therapists
  • early intervention services
  • teachers and educators
  • accommodation, support and community participation services
  • employment services
  • recreation and leisure services
  • policy makers

Abstracts can be submitted through the APAC 2019 website: http://apac.autismcongress.org/2019

The conference theme Thriving with Autism aim to inspire hope and extend the current knowledge, research and practice of Autism. It focuses on improving the quality of life for individuals on the spectrum and their families across the lifespan. Their strengths, interests and talents will be celebrated at the conference.

We especially encourage innovative presentations that provide new perspectives and encourage alternative solutions to traditional issues and concerns. Anyone with an interest in autism, personal or professional, will be inspired by the diversity of presentations which will include personal stories and narratives, workshops, oral papers, traditional posters and interactive sessions at APAC 2019.

APAC 2019 welcomes submissions that address the following conference streams:

  • Physical and Emotional Well-being

This stream covers all areas of health and wellbeing, including mental health, access to supports and quality of life.

  • Lifelong Education and Learning

This stream focuses on continuous learning and education for across all settings, ages and abilities.

  • Social Relationships and Participation

This stream covers social relationships, communication, engagement and inclusion.

  • Independence and Employment

This stream covers promotion of independence in daily living and employment.

  • Families and Autistic Individuals

This stream focuses on autistic individuals and their families, their stories and lived experiences.

 

Submissions covering other topics relevant to Thriving with Autism will also be considered. Multidisciplinary perspectives are encouraged.

 

Sessions
APAC 2019 will host a range of presentation types including keynotes, plenary and symposia sessions, oral presentations, personal stories and narratives, interactive demonstrations and poster sessions. Proposals will be selected based on relevance, quality and innovation. For personal stories and narratives, preference will be given to presentations that are linked to one of the conference themes. For scholarly papers, preference will be given to recent evidence-informed practice and research. Previously presented material will not be accepted.

The APAC 2019 Review Committee will make the final decision on acceptance or rejection of all submissions. Abstract submissions should be no more than 300 words.

Oral Presentation Oral presentations may include research, theoretical, professional or practice topics presented in a concise manner. They may also be personal stories and narratives which provide opportunities for people to present their everyday lived experiences to others. Presenters will have 20 minutes to present their original and innovative work. Although there may be multiple authors for the paper, only a maximum of two authors may present the paper. There will be multiple presentations scheduled per session on a similar topic, followed by question time facilitated by a session chair. The Conference Committee will integrate sets of individual papers into thematic sessions of one and a half hours duration.

Standard Posters The poster presentation involves displaying your research, theoretical, professional and/or practice issues in a visual format. This is an ideal medium for complex visual information and allows presenters to have personal interaction with your audience. More than one author may be involved in the poster display. Poster displays will be in traditional hard copy format. Guidelines for the poster will be sent to the presenting author upon acceptance of submission.

 

Interactive Sessions

These 20-40 minutes sessions are practice-focused and designed to involve the audience in practical learning, including a demonstration or model lesson.

 

Symposium

A symposium is a submission of a whole 90 min session. Each Symposium submission should have an overarching theme, with 4 to 5 concrete presentations that form the session, and discussed by the Chairperson. It should present new research data on related topics with reference to the current literature. The chairperson should submit an overall abstract describing the session, and one abstract each per presentation within the session. It is permissible for the chairperson to be one of the presenter in the session. Time should be provided for questions and discussion within the session.

 

Workshops

These 90 minute sessions are practice-focused and designed to involve targeted audience in practical learning through modalities such as live demonstrations, video demonstrations and hands on experiences for participants. Workshops should aim to impart specific skill sets to participants such that they will be empowered to apply the acquired knowledge and skills in their own settings. Workshops may be led by one or more presenters, who should all be listed as authors in the abstract submission. The workshop chairperson submits one overall abstract.

 

Key dates

1 October 2018 Call for Papers Open

 

1 November 2018 Registration Opens

 

31 December 2018 Call for Papers Close

 

End January 2019 Notification of Acceptance

 

15 March 2019 Early bird Registration Closes