Different Minds, Equal Access: Neurodiversity in Higher Ed
May 21 – 22, 2025
University of Nebraska at Omaha, Thompson Alumni Center
6705 Dodge Street
Omaha, NE 68182
Conference Highlights
Our Spring conference will also include presentations from Katy Washington, current AHEAD president, Sara Sanders Gardner, Autism advocate, as well as others. You don’t want to miss this!
Lodging Information
A block of rooms has been reserved at Marriot Courtyard Omaha Aksarben Village for $149/night. If you are interested, please book your room with this link specific to the conference. If you are interested in other hotels in the area, please email winahead1@gmail.com and we can send you a list.
Conference Schedule
Wednesday
8:30am – 9:00am Registration and light breakfast
9:00am – 10:30am Creating Social Opportunities for Neurodivergent Students on a College Campus
Mitzi Ritzman, Ph.D., CCC-SLP
Associate Professor, Special Education and Communication Disorders
10:03am – 10:45am Break
10:45am – 11:45am The State of the Union on Education Today as We Know It
Katy Washington, J.D., Ph.D., Chief Accessibility Officer, President – AHEAD
Virginia Commonwealth University
Moderated by Barbara Woodhead, Director of Services for Students with Disabilities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln
11:45am – 1:00pm Lunch, Sponsored by Symplicity
Note: We would like to take a group photo prior to starting our lunch break
1:00pm – 2:30pm Autistic Culture and Communication: Improving Interactions
Sara Sanders Gardner
Within a social justice model, this session will explore autism as a culture, including language use and communication tools for interacting in a culturally responsive manner to improve relational outcomes. We will explore how the intersections of identity may further affect our interactions and responses. This session will explore the roots of ableism and concepts of normality and how those roots continue to affect interactions and decision-making in the present day. Attendees will identify current practices they are already using and answer questions they have coming into the workshop, as well as those that arise throughout. Participants will be better able to recognize and respond to communication patterns and needs of people with autism and will come away with tools to apply these practices in their daily lives and work. Attendees will receive a resource toolkit for implementation and continued learning.
2:30pm – 3:00pm Break
3:00pm – 4:30pm Supporting the New-to-College Student & Their Parents
Including Codes of Conduct Referrals
Sara Sanders Gardner
Building on learnings from Session 1, this session will identify current practices participants are already using and answer questions they have coming into the workshop, as well as those that arise throughout. This session will explore ways to best support new-to-college autistic students and their families, including onboarding, transitioning to college, understanding and meeting expectations, and more. We will discuss how to hold a student with autism accountable for their behavior while supporting them developmentally to enact positive change. During this session, we’ll discuss how codes of conduct intersect with some autistic student behavior(s) and gain insight by analyzing environmental and situational factors that disproportionately affect students with autism.
4:30pm – 4:45pm Wrap up
6:00pm Group Dinner (optional)
Thursday
8:30am – 9:00am Registration and light breakfast
9:00am -10:30am Common Senses Festival / Common Coalition
Lauren Oehm and Wendy Andersen
The mission of Common Senses is to explore and celebrate the uniqueness and commonalities of all of humanity with a focus on arts, science, and disability acceptance. Our 2025 festival hosted a variety of events from an elevator scavenger hunt to an intergalactic dance party, to film with panel discussions to two days full of discourse highlighting strength-based strategies & disability acceptance and building accessibility in the arts. Join us for a powerful recap of the Common Senses Festival—celebrating its impact, purpose, and the vibrant community it brought together. We’ll also introduce the Common Coalition, a growing movement rooted in collaboration, inclusion, and advocacy. Learn how we’re building on the momentum to create lasting change and how you can be a part of the mission moving forward.
10:30am – 10:45am Break
10:45am -11:15am Update from Transitions Committee
11:15am – 12:00pm Business Meeting
12:00pm Lunch (on your own)
2:00pm – 3:30pm Sensorium X Opera
Complimentary tickets provided by the Common Senses Festival
Presenter Bios:
Dr. Mitzi J. Ritzman
Mitzi Ritzman is an Associate Professor of Special Education & Communication Disorders at the University of Nebraska at Omaha. She also holds a Courtesy Faculty Appointment – University of Nebraska Medical Center (UNMC) Munroe Meyer Institute (MMI). Her teaching interests include Autism Spectrum Early Language, Professional Practices, and Early Intervention: Birth to Five. Dr. Ritzman’s research interests include Autism spectrum, Community-engaged teaching and scholarship, Language and literacy of preschool and school-age children, and best practices in service delivery.
Dr. Katy Washington
Katy Washington, J.D., PhD., currently serves as President of the Board of Directors for the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD). She is also the inaugural Chief Accessibility Officer for Virginia Commonwealth University in the Office of the President and serves as the ADA/Section 504 Coordinator. She has spent over nineteen years working with faculty and staff to facilitate an inclusive campus environment for disabled students. In her current role, Dr. Washington uses an innovative approach to proactively remove physical and digital barriers to equal access by collaborating with workgroups and partners across the university; administering the employment-related accommodation process; and ensuring university compliance with relevant state and federal laws which directly impact equal access and inclusion of disabled employees, students, and visitors. Dr. Washington received a Master of Science in Counseling Psychology from the University of Central Arkansas. She also holds a Juris Doctor from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and a Ph.D. in Public Policy from the University of Arkansas.
Barbara Woodhead
Barbara Woodhead is the Director of Services for Students with Disabilities at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln UNL). With 30 plus years of experience in disability services in higher ed, she believes that collaboration and consultation are critical when promoting equity and access for students with disabilities. Barbara holds dual certifications from the Registry of Interpreters for the Deaf and her graduate studies focused on linguistics, diagnostics and assessment. She is a past president of WinAhead, and her outreach experience includes serving two terms as Commissioner for the Nebraska Commission for the Deaf and Hard of Hearing, serving on the Nebraska Dept of Education transition committee, and presenting at the International Forum on Education Abroad regarding program accessibility.
Sara Sanders Gardner
Sara Sanders Gardner’s work in the disability field began in 2001, when as a newly diagnosed autistic, they served as a parent advocate for IEP meetings, taught parenting classes at United Cerebral Palsy, and were president of a 600-family autism support group in Orange County, CA. In 2011, Sara designed and developed the nationally recognized Neurodiversity Navigators at Bellevue College in Washington State, which has grown to serve over 300 students in tiered services. As director of the program, Sara leads a team of staff, faculty, and peer mentors, designs curriculum, serves as faculty in cohort classes, and works to support disability inclusion and accessibility across campus. Sara serves as co-chair of the College’s Council for Inclusion and Diversity, sits on the CARE Team, and is a Title IX Investigator. Through their Autistic at Work LLC, Sara also provides workshops and e-Learning in Neurodiversity Cultural Responsiveness for Microsoft Corporation, Amazon Web Services, and other organizations. Sara has a 34-year-old neurodivergent son, and a 16-year-old dachshund. Sara’s pronouns are they/them.
Lauren Oehm, Deputy Director
Lauren Oehm is the Deputy Director of Common Senses Festival, with over thirteen years of experience working in various capacities within the disability community. Lauren’s passion for working in the field started when she was a student at the University of Nebraska at Omaha (Go Mavs!) and began working with Freddie. Her curiosity about the overlap of services and how different sectors could collaborate to better serve their clients and students led her to pursue her master’s degree. Most recently, Lauren started an after-school social group for young adults with autism at a local non-profit to provide a fun and safe space for individuals to hang out, engage in activities, and share similar experiences. Lauren volunteered during the first Common Senses Festival in 2022 and fell in love with meeting the patrons, hearing their stories about what the festival meant to them, and how thoughtful and welcoming the events were for everyone in the community. Growing up in Omaha, Lauren’s work at Common Senses furthers her passion to make Omaha the most accepting community where similarities and uniqueness are celebrated.
Wendy Andersen, Common Coalition Manager
Wendy Andersen, MA has vast experience in the disability community as a mother of three children, two with disabilities, a passionate advocate, and a connector of families to local resources. With extensive experience in the Omaha non-profit sector, she serves as Co-Chair for the Iowa Governor’s Council for Autism and is a board member of the Iowa DD Council and Disability Rights and Special Education Advisory Panel. Wendy is deeply familiar with the processes and efforts required to create meaningful change, working tirelessly to improve the lives of individuals with disabilities and their families for the betterment of our community. She is excited to bring organizations together in the same room to foster conversations that will drive collective change across the Omaha metro area.
WINAHEAD 