Archived Events

Policy Power Lunch: What’s in Your Advocacy Toolbox? Building the Skills to Connect with Policymakers

September 11, 2024  12:00 – 1:00 PM

Join us for a community conversation focused on empowering disability self-advocates, researchers, professionals and community-based organizations, and others who want to learn the skills needed to effectively connect with policymakers. This webinar aims to equip participants with practical tools and strategies to enhance their advocacy efforts and make real policy impact.

Policy Power Lunch: Autism in Immigrant Communities – Bridging Gaps in Research and Policy

July 17, 2024  12:00 – 1:00 PM

The Policy Impact Project spotlights the unique needs of autistic people from immigrant families in the U.S., empowering researchers and advocates to drive policy and research changes. Autistic immigrants often face bans due to high support costs, and diagnoses are delayed, especially for children of Black, Central or South American, Filipino, and Vietnamese immigrants. As these children transition to adulthood, their families report a lack of support. Despite one in four U.S. children having immigrant parents, few studies address the transition of non-native autistic youth. Join us for a session and dialogue on these issues.

Policy Power Lunch : Addressing the Importance of LGBTQ + Autism Research and Policy

April 3, 2024  12:00 – 1:00 PM

The Policy Impact Project held a Policy Power Lunch Series titled "Rethinking Research: Addressing LGBTQ+ Autism Research and Policy." It aimed to spotlight issues affecting LGBTQ individuals within the Actually Autistic community, empowering stakeholders to drive policy and research changes. Topics included identifying needs, analyzing political impacts, and discussing support services for LGBTQIA+ autistic individuals and families.

Policy Power Lunch: Assessing the Impact of the Medicaid Unwinding

October 19, 2023  12:00 – 1:00 PM

The Policy Impact Project and Joan Alker discuss the state by state Medicaid landscape and what it looks like as we move from the Medicaid Continuous Coverage Requirements and transition back to regular operations after the Public Health Emergency (PHE). They look at the available data and discuss what impact the Medicaid Unwinding will have on people across the country.

Unwinding Resources 

Policy Power Lunch: Understanding the Intersection of Reproductive Rights and Disability Rights: Unpacking the Topics

November 2, 2022  12:00 – 1:00 PM

Changes in how laws and governments have authority and power over bodily autonomy were brought to the forefront with the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade. The ripples of this decision will continue to be felt far and wide. What will the impact be on disabled people, whose bodies, privacy, and autonomy have been subject to scrutiny for generations? Following the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Dobbs v. Jackson Women’s Health Organization which overturned Roe v. Wade, discussions about government control of healthcare access and the rights of disabled people should be front and center.

Policy Power Lunch: Crisis in our Communities: A Toolkit Addressing Racism in Autistic and Disabled Community Living

June 15, 2022  12:00 – 1:00 PM

It’s important for people with disabilities to live in communities and settings of their choice. But it’s harder for disabled people of color to access community living. There are barriers resulting from racist policies that create unfair situations for people of color. Racism impacts policies dealing with emergencies, police violence, housing, and much more.  Greg Robinson, Deputy Director of Public Policy at the Autistic Self Advocacy Network (ASAN) discussed “Crisis in our Communities: Racial Disparities in Community Living” a toolkit that explains how policy choices, now and in the past, keep disabled people of color from accessing community living. 

Policy Power Lunch: Avoiding Ableism in Research and Policy

April 13, 2022  12:00 – 1:00 PM

Autism research has historically been conducted by non-autistic researchers. As a result, autism has been pathologized, discussed exclusively using clinical language, or described as something that needs fixing. Describing autism in this way has negative effects on how society views and treats autistic people. This negatively impacts how autistic people view themselves, and it also influences how policy is written.

Join us for a conversation with developmental psychologist and autism and neurodiversity expert Dr. Steven Kapp, Director of the master’s level autism specialization program at Boston College, Dr. Kristen Bottema-Beutel, and co-authors Dr. Jessica Lester, Dr. Noah Sasson, and Dr. Brittany N. Hand for a discussion anchored in their paper “Avoiding Ableist Language: Suggestions for Autism Researchers.”

Read the full article here

Policy Power Lunch: Policy, Practice, and the Autism CARES Evaluation

December 1, 2021  12:00 – 1:00 PM

Join the Policy Impact Project team and Rachel Gaddes from Insight Policy Research for a discussion about the Autism CARES evaluation and the broader field of policy research. Rachel will present study results, share broader reflections on the importance of policy research and validating the effectiveness of federally-supported programs, and discuss ways evaluation evidence can be disseminated and shared with a range of audiences. There will also be an opportunity for questions and answers.