In July 2026, Knospe-Lerncenter’s Regional Director West, Whitney Hammel Anny, BCBA, traveled to Lagos, Nigeria, to participate in the 16th Annual GTCO Autism Conference, an international gathering of autism professionals, educators, parents, caregivers, self-advocates, and researchers.
Held July 27–28 under the theme “Acceptance in Action,” the conference brought together voices from across the autism community to explore practical ways to turn acceptance and inclusion into meaningful opportunities for autistic individuals and their families.
For Whitney, the conference was an opportunity to return to Africa to not only to share her experience in Applied Behavior Analysis, but also to learn from professionals and families working within different cultural and community contexts.
The conference focused on many of the issues that families and professionals encounter around the world: inclusive education, communication, family support, employment, and creating meaningful opportunities for autistic individuals across the lifespan.
Whitney contributed to the conference as both a panelist and moderator.
As a panelist on “Transitioning and Creating Employment Pathways for the Adult on the Spectrum,” Whitney discussed practical approaches to teaching vocational skills, including the use of task analysis to break complex job skills into manageable, teachable steps.
She also highlighted the importance of looking beyond traditional Western models when developing employment opportunities for autistic adults. One example she shared was the Lemon Tree Hotels model in India, which demonstrates how employment success can involve much more than simply training an individual for a job. By modifying the environment and providing appropriate supports, employers can create conditions that allow employees to be successful.
This distinction is an important one: meaningful employment support is not simply about teaching an individual to adapt to an existing workplace. It can also involve adapting the workplace itself to create an environment in which different ways of learning, communicating, and working can be successful.
On the second day of the conference, Whitney moderated a panel titled “Practical Tips to Get Your Children School and Classroom Ready.”
The panel brought together professionals with extensive experience in autism and education—including a BCBA-D, an IBA, and a special educator—who also shared the unique perspective of being parents of autistic children or adults.
The discussion focused on practical strategies families and educators can use to help children develop the skills and supports they need to participate successfully in school environments.
The combination of professional expertise and lived experience made the conversation especially meaningful, highlighting the importance of listening to both the research and the real-world experiences of families.
The conference was followed by four days of free, one-on-one family consultations in Lagos.
Whitney joined a multidisciplinary team that included occupational therapists, speech-language pathologists, BCBAs, psychologists, psychiatrists, special educators, dentists, and counselors to meet individually with families seeking guidance.
These consultations provided families with an opportunity to ask questions about autism and ABA, discuss their children’s individual strengths and support needs, and receive practical recommendations from professionals across multiple disciplines.
For Whitney, this was an important extension of the conference itself. While conferences provide an opportunity to share ideas with other professionals, individualized consultation allows those ideas to be translated into strategies that families can use in their everyday lives.
The experience reinforced a principle that is central to effective autism support: knowledge becomes meaningful when it can be translated into practical, individualized action.
Whitney’s participation in the GTCO Autism Conference reflects the value of international collaboration in the autism field. Autism support does not look exactly the same in every country, community, or family. Cultural context, available resources, educational systems, employment opportunities, and family priorities all influence how services can best be delivered.
Sharing knowledge across these different contexts allows professionals to learn not only from established research and clinical practices, but also from innovative approaches being developed in communities around the world.
At Knospe-Lerncenter, we believe that collaboration is an essential part of advancing meaningful, evidence-based support for autistic individuals and their families. Whitney’s participation in Lagos provided an opportunity to contribute our experience while also listening, learning, and building connections with professionals and families working toward many of the same goals in a different context.
The theme of this year’s conference—“Acceptance in Action”—captures that spirit well. Acceptance becomes meaningful when it leads to inclusion, opportunity, practical support, and greater participation in everyday life.
For the families and professionals Whitney met in Lagos, those conversations were an opportunity to turn knowledge into action—one individual, one family, and one community at a time.
