Welcome to the official website for the 2024 TASH Conference!
Each year, the TASH Conference brings together our constituents to share resources and success stories, learn about field-driven best practices, and network within a community engaged in shared values. The Conference is attended by passionate leaders, experts, and advocates from every corner of the disability community. Conference attendees are influential in their fields and communities, and play an important role in the provision of services and supports for individuals and organizations around the world; and include professors and researchers from leading institutions; those involved in local, state, and federal governments and public policy; special and general educators, and school administrators; self-advocates, adult service providers; students, family members, and many others. This year’s conference theme is Celebrate Together: Let the Good Times Roll!
Click on the "Registration and More" tab for additional information about our Conference location, registration, reserving a guest room, sponsorship and exhibitor opportunities, and more! The full Conference schedule is now available for viewing. Registered attendees will receive an invitation to log in and create a personalized schedule.
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This presentation will focus on facilitating successful transitions for students with severe disabilities from school to post-school environments. It highlights the importance of early, individualized transition planning, robust support systems, and community partnerships. Attendees will gain insights into evidence-based practices and implementing effective transition programs. The presenters will discuss transition challenges and barriers faced by adolescents with disabilities and their families. The presenters will focus on fostering collaborative relationships with families and community organizations and on multidisciplinary approaches for integrating educational, social, and community resources for holistic transition support.
College Assistant Professor, New Mexico State University
Yvonne Moreno, PhD is a College Assistant Professor at New Mexico State University. She believes that all individuals regardless of their exceptionalities must have a right to the self-actualization of their goals and aspirations. This belief has guided her education, career, and... Read More →
Sergio Madrid-Aranda is an Assistant Professor at Augsburg University in Minneapolis, MN. He earned his PhD in Special Bilingual Education, focusing on autism spectrum disorders, from New Mexico State University. He collaborates with Murcia University in Spain as a research associate... Read More →
This qualitative research uncovers current and best inclusive practices in school-based transition programs for 18-21 year-old students with significant disabilities. Document analysis of published curricula, results of a mixed-method survey, and 24 semi-structured interviews offer multiple perspectives on the current status of transition programs as well as practices that uphold inclusivity, which are more likely to lead to inclusive adult life experiences. Findings show that many students expressed discontent with segregative aspects of transition programs and parents worked tirelessly to cobble together unique programs. Professional perspectives reveal that low-expectations often guided program decisions that led to segregative practices. Examples of promising and inclusive practices are also uncovered in the study. A review of the literature on inclusive transition programming and disability studies theoretical lens contextualize research findings.
In this presentation, we advocate for student-led Individualized Education Programs (IEPs) for transition-age adults with intellectual disabilities (ages 18-21). Transitioning from school to adulthood is critical, and empowering these individuals to participate in their IEPs is essential. Research highlights the importance of self-determination, self-advocacy, and engagement for better outcomes in education, employment, and independent living. Our approach includes providing direct instruction for self-advocacy skills, fostering collaboration between students, families, educators, and community agencies, and enhancing communication to improve participation. The presentation includes a student from a post-secondary transition program who adopted a person-centered IEP approach.
This presentation explores a school district's systemic efforts to implement inclusive education practices for students with Extensive Support Needs (ESN) starting from kindergarten. The research highlights the strategic use of natural transitions, such as the entry into kindergarten, as pivotal moments for initiating systemic change. The study is framed by the Quality Implementation Framework (QIF) and implementation science, offering a structured approach to examining and enacting systemic changes. Data collection involved semi-structured interviews with district administrators, teachers, and parents; observations of kindergarten classrooms; and analysis of district policy documents and meeting minutes. This comprehensive approach allowed for an in-depth examination of the systemic changes implemented and their impact on the inclusion of students with ESN. Attendees will gain practical strategies and insights to promote inclusive practices within their own contexts.
In this presentation, Gage Perryman talks about his life and how he learned to stand up for himself and make big decisions. Gage has disabilities, but that doesn’t stop him from going to college and getting involved in activities that help his community and other individuals with disabilities across the state of Minnesota and beyond. He has navigated the complexities of transitioning into adulthood, leveraging self-advocacy skills, participating in inclusive higher education and state-wide community advocacy initiatives, and presenting at national conferences. In this talk, he will dive into the strategies, challenges, and successes he has encountered along the way, sharing useful tips and inspirational stories so that listeners feel able to make their own communities better and more welcoming for everyone. It's a talk about finding your voice, overcoming challenges, and making a difference within your community.
Jennifer Sommerness is a distinguished educator and researcher at the TIES Center, at the University of Minnesota. She is known for her dedication to inclusive education and student success, with a profound commitment to educational equity. Jennifer has played a role in shaping the... Read More →
As agencies staffed by people with disabilities, Centers for Independent Living (CILs) are uniquely positioned to provide effective pre-employment transition services (Pre-ETS). During this session presenters from Able South Carolina (Able SC) and the Disability Employment Technical Assistance Center (DETAC) will share how Centers for Independent Living (CILs) can collaborate with state vocational rehabilitation (VR) agencies and schools to deliver comprehensive pre-ETS, empowering youth and strengthening communities. We will review how the disability rights and independent living movements have shaped the cultural landscape and address five key components of effective transition services: collaboration, accessibility, individualization, disability pride, and problem-solving. Successful transitions benefit the entire community, including businesses, families, and individuals, by promoting a more inclusive workforce and society.
Paraprofessionals are increasingly serving as job coaches at community-based work sites. In this session we share findings from a study that explored the qualifications and responsibilities of job coaches who are employed by schools, the training these job coaches receive to perform their job, and the role of school professionals in directing the activities of job coaches. Discussion will focus on how we can continue to enhance the role, training, and supervision of job coaches who are employed by schools to improve employment outcomes for students with extensive support needs.
Stacy Dymond is professor of special education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on curriculum issues related to educating secondary and transition-age students with severe intellectual disabilities in inclusive school and community settings... Read More →
Assistant Professor, University of Missouri, St. Louis
Magen is an assistant professor of inclusive education at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Her research focuses on the inclusion of students with significant support needs in work-based learning experiences.
Friday December 6, 2024 3:25pm - 4:20pm CST
4TH Floor - Imperial 5DHyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113
Work experience, whether paid or unpaid, enables students with disabilities to learn job skills in the real world and clarify their career path. Despite the benefits of work experiences, many educational programs struggle to provide work experiences in the community due to issues surrounding transportation. In this session we will share 12 creative strategies for transporting students with disabilities to community-based work sites and provide tips to consider when selecting strategies. Come join us to discuss this important topic and share your creative solutions for obtaining transportation!
Stacy Dymond is professor of special education at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Her research focuses on curriculum issues related to educating secondary and transition-age students with severe intellectual disabilities in inclusive school and community settings... Read More →
Training Specialist, Illinois Center for Transition and Work - UIUC
I am a training specialist for the Illinois Center for Transition and Work at the University of Illinois. My background is mostly in transition to work for people with significant disabilities. I am passionate about finding paid employment for youth with disabilities where they can... Read More →
Training Specialist, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Jessica Sipovic is a training specialist for the Illinois Center for Transition and Work through the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (UIUC). She has over 15 years of experience working with children and adults with diverse needs in school, home, and community settings. Most... Read More →
This presentation offers evidence-based solutions to bridge the significant gap between current practices and best practices in transition planning for adult independence, job skills, self-advocacy, technology, and post-secondary education. By adopting a growth mindset with strengths-based approach to student-centered transition planning, schools can effectively implement the practical steps detailed in our Transition Matrix. Steps are designed to enhance potential for personal fulfillment, employment, financial stability, independence, and community integration. Participants will receive a comprehensive road map for transition planning. Will’s personal journey from school to employment is a powerful testament to the impact of supportive interventions. His experience underscores challenges students face in being recognized as productive members of society. With tools and supports from LSU PAYCheck program, Will successfully secured competitively integrated employment.
During transition planning, the partnerships formed between the family and the school are essential to post-high school success, and family involvement must be prioritized (Kellems & Morningstar, 2010). When family members (i.e., siblings) are involved in transition planning, the comprehensive understanding of the transition-aged youth is enhanced (e.g., Seltzer et. al., 2005). Siblings fulfill beneficial roles within the family unit, and their involvement in transition planning and partnership with their sibling’s teacher can promote positive post-school outcomes in the areas of employment, education, independent living, and more. This poster presentation will discuss what a sibling-teacher partnership is and it’s importance. Moreover, the development and administration of a scale assessing the sibling-teacher partnership will be highlighted. Attendees at this poster presentation will learn ways to support the sibling-teacher partnership for transition-aged youth and family members.
The transition to adulthood for youth with disabilities and their families can be challenging, as they learn to navigate new post-school environments, often without the necessary supports. Ideally, youth with disabilities connect to necessary post-school services while they are still in high school. However, families regularly report having limited information on post-high school options, & describe services as fragmented or unavailable (Gibson et al., 2017). The absence of strong post-school connections can inhibit community inclusion and may contribute to poor post-school employment, education, & community living outcomes (Prince et al., 2017; Sanford et al., 2011). To help further understand the personal networks and connectedness of youth, families, and transition team members, this research describes the use of egocentric network methodology and a data collection software to study the networks that families interact with as their youth gets ready to transition out of high school.
When it comes to securing competitive integrated employment (CIE), families may be an integral part of the process. Family members often provide support to individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities across a variety of domains, including employment. For families to establish effective partnerships and help promote CIE outcomes, the field needs a more in-depth understanding of the current state of family involvement and its relationship with accessing and supporting employment outcomes. To fill this knowledge gap, a scoping review was conducted. The review revealed facilitators (i.e., advocacy, knowledge of supports and services, family expectations, contributing to obtaining employment, building a support network, and family member working), barriers (i.e., lack of family support, socioeconomic status, lack of knowledge, perceptions on abilities, and family challenges), support needs, and overall familial perspectives on employment outcomes.
Policy requirements and incentives emphasize interagency collaboration (IDEA, 2004; WIOA, 2014). Despite evidence of interagency collaboration improving postsecondary outcomes for students with disabilities, there are noted challenges in collaboration (Saleh et al., 2019). Difficulties exist despite the prevalence of conceptual interagency collaboration models (Kwiatek et al., 2023). Reconceptualizing research on interagency collaboration to emphasize collaboration theory will provide new insights into the process of interagency collaboration that may better address barriers to interagency collaboration (Thomson & Perry, 2006; Wood & Gray,1991). An exploratory qualitative study was conducted using collaboration theory. Vocational rehabilitation counselors in Central Illinois were asked to describe the process of collaboration in the provision of school-to-work employment-focused transition services. The results of the exploratory study are discussed.
