Parents, treatment professionals and people with autism gathered from across the state to learn about new and developing approaches for living with and treating the lifelong neurological disability, which can affect social and behavioral development beginning around age 1.

A luncheon Friday at the two-day conference featured a panel of high-functioning autistic teens and young adults.

“I’d want to let people know that just because some people who have autism can’t (speak to) say thank you it doesn’t mean they don’t appreciate everything you’ve done for them,” said 24-year-old Ann Rzentkow-ski of Stevens Point, when asked what her one wish would be.

Rzentkowski, who didn’t talk as a child, was among eight panelists who painted powerful, pictures of life with autism.

Currently attending Mid-State Technical College and working as a respite caregiver for a 3-year-old girl who also has autism, Rzentkowski said she’s encouraged that communities and school systems are now better educated on the treatment of autism than they where when she was a child.

“It was a time when educators and medical professionals said not labeling is good, so I didn’t get any intervention and I just got left behind. My autism was a secret to me until I got older and I was always confused.”

One current philosophy suggests that people with autism present a wide spectrum of physical, social and cognitive abilities.

While some are non-communicative and classified as mentally impaired, others, such as those with a condition known as Asperger Syndrome, are extremely talkative and may have higher than normal intelligence. Members of the latter group often excel in math and science.

The panelists themselves were examples of how the condition can vary substantially from one person to the next. Several had classic signs of autism, such as difficulty making eye contact and uncommon speech patterns, but others seemed to have overcome their discomfort with social situations.

Chris Umhoefer, 23, spoke of his struggle to become self-sufficient, while Jim Moony gave a vivid description of the hyper sensory issues that people with autism often experience.