Mountain West Neurodiversity Conference August 19-20, 2026

Join educators, families, clinicians, administrators, advocates, and community partners from across the region for the 2026 at Montana State University Billings. Hosted by the Montana Autism Education Project (MAEP) in collaboration with the Montana Center for Inclusive Education, this two-day conference focuses on practical, evidence-based strategies that improve outcomes for neurodiverse individuals across the lifespan.

The 2026 conference theme, Meeting Every Mind: Making Connections, highlights the importance of building meaningful connections between schools, families, communities, and neurodiverse individuals themselves. Sessions will explore social connection, executive functioning, communication, inclusive practices, mental health, transition planning, behavior supports, self-advocacy, collaboration, and life beyond school.

Conference highlights include:

• National keynote speakers and implementation-focused breakout sessions
• Neurodiverse adult panel discussions and lived-experience perspectives
• Cross-role collaboration opportunities for educators, therapists, administrators, and families
• Exhibitor and resource hall
• Practical tools and strategies designed for immediate application
• Family Day programming on August 21, 2026

Whether you are supporting young children, adolescents, transition-age youth, or adults, MWNC 2026 is designed to provide actionable ideas, meaningful collaboration, and renewed inspiration for supporting neurodiverse individuals in schools and communities throughout Montana and the Mountain West.

Info: Our students (and adults, clients), may have a range of diagnostic labels (e.g., ASD, ADHD, anxiety, etc). To focus on the person and not their diagnosis(es), the Social Thinking–Social Communication/Characteristics Summary (ST-SCS) is a dynamic descriptive tool (not diagnostic!) to help interventionists better understand the learning nuances and potential needs of individuals with whom they live, work, and teach and how we can group students/clients to work on goals that are designed to support their learning system and potential learning needs. Based on 30+ years of clinical observations, dynamic assessments, and family input, this tool defines six distinct social learning systems, including strengths of the learner, type of teaching & supports that best fit the learning system, and prognosis. For younger students, the Group Collaboration, Play and Problem-Solving Scale (GPS) will provide guidance when helping young learners from 4–7 or 8 years old.

Info: By 4th grade, many students have naturally developed executive functioning skills such as organization, social problem solving, time management, and self-regulation. However, many students across Tiers 1, 2, and 3 still need direct instruction and support. To address this need in an engaging way, Michelle Garcia Winner and Jenny Sojat created Brain Hacks: Strategies to Rally Motivation and Get Things Done (Even When We Don’t Want To), a graphic novel for tweens and teens. The story follows five teens who create a “CREW” of characters that teach metacognition, motivation, emotional awareness, executive functioning, and flexible thinking. This session explores the practical concepts behind the book and demonstrates how these lessons can be taught through a colorful, relatable, and motivating resource for neurotypical and neurodivergent learners.

Info: This session examines how to design Pre-Employment Transition Services (Pre-ETS) programming that meaningfully addresses social connection, real-world interaction, and the practical challenges students face when navigating relationships during the transition to adulthood. Rather than focusing solely on compliance with required service categories, the discussion centers on how educators and providers can structure programming around the actual social situations students encounter—peer interaction, workplace communication, self-advocacy, and informal social norms. The session will provide concrete topics, frameworks, and program design strategies that transition educators can immediately apply, while grounding the conversation in real-life implications for students who must translate these skills beyond the classroom and into college, employment, and community settings.

Info: Dan and Ben share with attendees a bit about their experiences with relationships and social development. Ben and Dan work on independent life skills together and these daily lessons have created a number of transferable takeaways.

Info: MSU-B Autism Club members and special guest, Ben Hartranft, will offer honest perspectives on navigating social expectations, building and maintaining relationships, managing independence, and developing self-awareness over time. This panel will be moderated by Michelle Garcia Winner.

Info: Children are expected to learn how the social world works and how to problem solve within it. Through Social Thinking, we work to make the “implicit explicit” by teaching 10 core Social Thinking vocabulary concepts that can be used in classrooms and across school settings. Problem solving is also a critical part of daily life at school and home. To support this learning, Michelle Garcia Winner and Dr. Pam Crooke created the Let’s Solve It! and We Solved It! series, featuring short problem-solving stories paired with worksheets that guide students through a step-by-step process for identifying problems and generating solutions. Designed for children ages 4–8, these colorful visual tools include 20 story sets and related thinksheets that teach a seven-step problem-solving process. This workshop brings these concepts to life visually and includes discussion on how they can support both neurotypical and neurodivergent learners.

Info: Dan and Ben share with attendees a bit about their experiences with relationships and social development. Ben and Dan work on independent life skills together and these daily lessons have created a number of transferable takeaways.

Info: Education is a fundamental right, but creating equitable access for neurodiverse learners means providing the right tools. Join MonTECH for hands-on exploration of technology to support communication, sensory processing, executive functioning, and more! Whether you are an educator, student, or caregiver, discover how to use universal design and assistive technology to create more inclusive opportunities for all learners.

Info: Ben Hartranft shares his story and perspective on his life with autism. Truly approaching every situation with kindness and love Ben has helped raise money for autism research while also being a case study himself. Ben found himself in the limelight when he made it on the Ellen Show for all the hard work he does speaking out for autism.

Info: This is the mentality of the Collaborative & Proactive Solutions (CPS) model, and it is contrasted by the Kids do well if they wanna mentality that underlies a lot of interventions for kids with concerning behaviors. Kids do well if they can propels caregivers into examining the problems setting the stage for concerning behaviors rather than defaulting to behavior modification procedures.

Info: Families play a central role in supporting their child’s relationships, yet they are often asked to navigate multiple systems that may not align. This session explores how professionals and families can work together to support relationship-building across school, home, and community settings. Participants will discuss strategies for preparing students for changing social expectations in middle school, high school, postsecondary settings, and employment. The session also highlights peer learning and natural supports, with practical ideas families can use to reinforce skills outside of school. Attendees will learn ways to improve communication, reduce overwhelm from competing programs and messages, and better coordinate supports around student goals and family priorities. Participants will leave with practical tools to strengthen family–professional partnerships and promote more consistent, relationship-centered supports across settings.

Info: This session equips participants with the knowledge and practical skills needed to implement effective parent engagement practices in special education. Grounded in IDEA requirements and evidence-based family engagement research, emphasis is placed on translating best practices into actionable strategies tailored to participants’ school contexts. Through guided reflection, applied scenarios, and collaborative discussion, participants will identify barriers to parent engagement and develop practical, school-based solutions aimed at improving student outcomes.

Info: In this session, Dr. Greene will provide an overview of the Assessment of Skills and Unsolved Problems, an instrument that helps caregivers move beyond kids’ concerning behaviors and toward identifying the skills that contribute to maladaptive frustration responses and the unsolved problems (unmet expectations) that are causing those responses.

Info: Panelists will discuss the realities of managing expectations, building independence, and developing strategies that have supported success throughout their lives. Attendees will gain practical insight into what helps, and what gets in the way, so they can better support meaningful, sustainable outcomes for neurodiverse individuals. This panel will be moderated by MSU-B's Dwight Welch.

Info: This session provides practical strategies for designing IEP processes that support authentic family participation. Grounded in IDEA requirements and family engagement research, participants will learn how to move beyond compliance to create collaborative, student-centered meetings. Emphasis is placed on intentional planning, effective communication, and tools that position families as equal partners in decision-making.

Info: In this session, Dr. Greene will provide an overview of the problem-solving process of the CPS model (called Plan B), and of the necessity of placing some expectations on hold for now (Plan C).

Info: Dr. Greene will summarize the important shifts to existing practices provided by the CPS model: focusing on problems rather than behaviors; intervening proactively rather than reactively; solving problems collaboratively rather than unilaterally; the definition of good teaching (meeting kids where they’re at, with each student as their own reference point), and the imperative to be attuned to the developmental variability inherent in every classroom.

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Host or Publisher The Montana Autism Education Project