ABA Graduate Student Gives Her Testimony at Panel Discussion at United Nations
Caldwell ABA graduate student Amy Gravino pictured with Ambassador (Frederick) Rick Barton, U.S. Representative to the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations in New York. Gravino spoke at the United Nations on a panel discussion on autism.
Caldwell College ABA graduate student and Montclair resident Amy Gravino recently took to the world stage to represent and advocate for people with autism. She joined professionals from Autism Speaks and the World Health Organization, among others, in a panel discussion at the U.N., entitled “Solving the Autism Public Health Puzzle.”
Gravino, who was diagnosed with Asperger’s Syndrome at the age of ten, testified about her journey from a childhood filled with ridicule and unhappiness to a successful, fulfilling career as an Asperger’s Syndrome college coach. She said that happiness and humanity are the two things all people with autism desire, and those can only be achieved by discovering who they really are as individuals and as valuable members of society. Gravino challenged the audience to keep open lines of communication about the social and human rights of people with autism, and to avoid “one-size-fits-all” solutions in treating and supporting them.
“It was a tremendous privilege and honor to be able to speak at the United Nations,” said Gravino. “I am grateful that I was able to be a voice for those in the autism community who could and cannot speak for themselves.”
Gravino plans to complete her M.A. degree in Applied Behavior Analysis in the Spring of 2011. Her U.N testimony can be viewed at: http://www.unmultimedia.org/tv/webcast/2011/04/panel-discussion-solving-the-autism-public-health-puzzle.html.
