The final webinar of the "Introduction to Autism Diagnosis, Interventions, and Support in North Carolina Webinar Series," hosted by the North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities, will be held on Thursday, October 15, 2026 from 6:30 p.m. to 7:45 p.m. This is the final webinar in this 3-part series.
The webinar will continue the conversations from the second webinar to introduce several established approaches and help participants understand their purposes, principles, and differences. Parents and professionals will gain information to help them ask informed questions and consider which supports may align with an individual’s needs. Policymakers will learn why families need access to a range of evidence-informed options.
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Topics will include:
- Understanding the range of autism support models
- Developmental, Individual Differences, Relationship-Based model (commonly known as DIR or Floortime)
- Early Start Denver Model
- Positive Development
- Applied Behavior Analysis
Speakers are:
Dr. Andrea Davis is a licensed clinical psychologist and founder of Greenhouse Therapy Center. She is an Expert Training Leader in DIRFloortime and serves as Special Advisor for Advocacy at Positive Development, where she leads national initiatives to expand access to high‑quality relationship‑based developmental therapeutic supports for autistic children and their parents.
Dr. Lauren Franz directs the Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development and is a board‑certified child and adolescent psychiatrist. Her clinical and research expertise spans early autism identification, intervention, and implementation science. She has particular expertise in the Early Start Denver Model (ESDM), including caregiver coaching and adapting and implementing ESDM‑based interventions across different clinical and community contexts.
Whitney Sukonick is the Clinical Director of Applied Behavior Analysis services at the Autism Society of North Carolina. She oversees ABA programming statewide, focusing on individualized behavioral supports, skill building, and family‑centered treatment planning across the lifespan.
Liesl Hartmann is a neurodiversity‑affirming speech‑language pathologist and the Regional Clinical Director for Positive Development. With more than 25 years of experience, she specializes in developmental, relationship‑based therapy models for autistic children, including communication regulation, caregiver coaching, and DIR‑informed clinical approaches.
Eliza Lewis, MSW Candidate and NCCDD Advocate, will share personal experiences from individuals with autism and their families and their reflections about navigating autism interventions, supports, and daily life.
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Previous Autism Webinar Recordings & Resources
Watch recordings of the first two NCCDD autism webinars!
Then please fill out this survey about the first two webinars. This helps us with our federal funding so we can do more webinars. You can also share your hopes for future webinars and the work of NCCDD.
Find resources and materials from the previous two webinars here: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10wzHNXOPSrXKHM0NWvxL_ZtOI4VD-Eov
About this Webinar Series
The North Carolina Council on Developmental Disabilities is hosting a series of webinars on autism in September and October via Zoom on Thursday evenings. Presenters will include professionals, clinicians, researchers, self-advocates, and subject matter experts in Autism Spectrum Disorder and Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities (I/DD), offering diverse perspectives on diagnosis, interventions, supports, and lived experience.
The goal is to educate families and the larger community, including medical professionals and state leaders, on how a family obtains a potential diagnosis, steps to take after an autism diagnosis, and the variety of interventions and supports that exist.