2024 TASH Conference: Full Schedule

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.

10:00am CST

Elevating Person-Centered: Intersectionality, Identity, and Inclusion

Thursday December 5, 2024 10:00am - 12:00pm CST

Foster 1

When organizations conduct Person Centered Plans and approaches, they historically only focus on the individual's strengths and weaknesses, skills and abilities, and similar characteristics. But what are we missing? What other nuances and complexities are we leaving out? How are we developing and evolving the conversation and the work? This session will explore intersectionality and identity of the individual to fully embrace a Person-Centered Approach. There will be conversations in a world cafe style that will give participants the opportunity to have discussions on ideas and strategies to be more person-centered with a DEI lens.

Moderators

Wally Tablit

Thursday December 5, 2024 10:00am - 12:00pm CST
Foster 1 Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Day One Intensives

Primary Topic Diversity and Social Impact
Themes of Interest Person Centered Practice
Key Words Intersectionality, Diversity and inclusion

10:00am CST

Stories Braiding Synergy & Belonging

Thursday December 5, 2024 10:00am - 12:00pm CST

Celestin Ballroom: Celestin B

Connecting communities and systems create a dynamic approach to Bridge, Disrupt, and Build. Prioritizing individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, with a focus on multicultural backgrounds and languages. Bringing forth perspectives and knowledge through the stories of themselves, caregivers, parents, and service providers. Recognizing that without connection, we can't make change; strengthening collaboration and building healthy partnerships so that individuals within the special education system can access learning, relationships, and opportunities to create a strong future for themselves.

Moderators

Nicole Barker

Open Doors for Multicultural Families

Presenters

Melanie Cates

Open Doors for Multicultural Families

Thursday December 5, 2024 10:00am - 12:00pm CST
Celestin Ballroom: Celestin B Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Day One Intensives

Primary Topic Diversity and Social Impact
Themes of Interest Systems Change
Key Words Bridging, Disruption of Norms, Building Through Stories and Reflections

1:00pm CST

I Want to But I Don't Know How: Cultivating A Good Time

Thursday December 5, 2024 1:00pm - 4:00pm CST

Celestin Ballroom: Celestin A

During this presentation, attendees will participate in discussions about the importance of social skills and successful social interactions. A large part of the human experience is sharing space and interacting with others. We spend significant amounts of time working on functional skills but tend to forget that social skills are just as important. We will discuss navigating social situations to cultivate a sense of belonging and togetherness. Through interactive group activities, attendees will share and exchange views on barriers to effective social interactions, communication and relationship building. Attendees will also discuss solutions for navigating social situations and creating opportunities to develop social skills that are important when accessing shared spaces and maintaining relationships. We will also explore what it means to be in a valued role and the significance of meaningful social experiences.

Moderators

Robin Dodds

Associate Professor of Early Childhood Special Education, California State University LA

My primary research interests focus on supporting families of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and related Developmental Disabilities in two ways; through Parent to Parent social support and through parent-mediated interventions for social communication. Additionally... Read More →

Presenters

Shay Bernard

Support Coordination Standards Specialist, Progressive Community Services

Shahariah "Shay" Bernard has worked for Progressive Community Services for a total of 11 years. 2 years as a direct support staff, and 9 years in support coordination. She is passionate about advocating for the people she supports, finding creative solutions to everyday problems... Read More →

Thursday December 5, 2024 1:00pm - 4:00pm CST
Celestin Ballroom: Celestin A Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Day One Intensives

Primary Topic Diversity and Social Impact
Themes of Interest Relationships & Sexuality
Key Words Social Interactions, Belonging, Togetherness, Relationships, Quality of life

10:00am CST

Case Study: Creating A Culture of Radical Person Centeredness

Friday December 6, 2024 10:00am - 11:00am CST

Celestin Ballroom: Celestin G

This presentation is a case study on an organization named SEEC that is implementing a best practice and research based framework to infuse the principles of person centeredness into the culture of the organization but to do so in a radical way. A shake up to the status quo. The framework has five main components: People, Collaboration, Values, Culture of Learning, and Continuous Quality Improvement to drive person centeredness into all aspects of the organization. This case study is part one of what we hope to be a two-part TASH presentation over the course of one year. In part one, we want to share with attendees how the framework was developed, discuss the various components of the framework, the assessment that was used to determine â€œcurrent stateâ€ with self-advocates, families, and internal team members, and how we used that assessment to develop a project pl

Moderators

Nicholas Burton

N. Burton Consulting

Presenters

Karen Lee

CEO, SEEC

Friday December 6, 2024 10:00am - 11:00am CST
Celestin Ballroom: Celestin G Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Breakout Sessions

Primary Topic Diversity and Social Impact
Themes of Interest Person Centered Practice
Key Words People, Person Centeredness, Culture, Equity, Values
Presentation Type General

2:15pm CST

WE ARE! Our Stories Inclusion Thru Oral Histories

Friday December 6, 2024 2:15pm - 3:10pm CST

Imperial 9

Everyone has a story! Oral histories help to identify our uniqueness and our commonalities. Through introspection, we all, individuals with and without disabilities can find, form and share our story. In sharing oral histories, we facilitate inclusion as the line between different and disability is diminished, perspectives and experiences of our community are broaden and enriched. The mutual sharing of oral histories contributes to understanding, valuing and inclusion, our common-unity. Rationale, strategies, low cost technologies to collect, share and archive oral histories are provided to help advocates, families and practitioners elicit, collect, share and archive oral histories.

Friday December 6, 2024 2:15pm - 3:10pm CST
Imperial 9 Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Breakout Sessions

Primary Topic Diversity and Social Impact
Themes of Interest Capacity Building for Inclusion
Key Words Inclusion, Oral History, Community Buillding, Diversity
Presentation Type General

2:30pm CST

How Self-Advocacy Helped Me Break Cultural Stigmas About Disability

Friday December 6, 2024 2:30pm - 4:30pm CST

Celestin Ballroom E

I will tell my story with lived experience with a seizure disorder, epilepsy and mental health illnesses. In my Mexican culture Disability is a taboo and I was denied my diagnosis because of it. Listeners will learn how I got diagnosed later in life and how difficult it has been to defeat my inner ableist. This greatly affected my quality of life and the way I viewed myself. I will talk about how Self Advocacy helped me accept myself and how important it is to break stigmas.

Presenters

Jacqueline Cuevas

Friday December 6, 2024 2:30pm - 4:30pm CST
Celestin Ballroom E Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

TASH Talks

Primary Topic Diversity and Social Impact
Themes of Interest Self-Determination
Key Words Self Advocacy, Lived Experience, Hidden Disability, Self Acceptance
Presentation Type General

3:25pm CST

Extensive Support Needs: A Call for Definitional Clarity

Friday December 6, 2024 3:25pm - 4:20pm CST

Celestin Ballroom: Celestin F

Terms used to refer to disabilities and the related definitions change over time, evolving in response to changes in social conventions. Currently we often see references to â€œstudents with extensive support needs (ESN).â€ When we look at studies focusing on participants with ESN, we find great variability in participant descriptions, even though all are using the â€œESNâ€ phrase; we likely find widely varying communication, academics, and motor skills, as well as co-occurring disabilities. The implications of study results and resulting applications for practitioners will be very different depending upon whom the study actually focuses (i.e., very specific participant descriptions). This session will focus on an analysis of published reviews that specifically state focusing on students with ESN. Results of this research will be examined to present an overview of who the term ESN represents in research and to make recommendations for definitional clarity.

Presenters

MaryAnn Demchak

Professor, Special Education, University of Nevada, Reno

Friday December 6, 2024 3:25pm - 4:20pm CST
Celestin Ballroom: Celestin F Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Breakout Sessions

Primary Topic Diversity and Social Impact
Themes of Interest Disability Theory
Key Words Extensive Support Needs, Definitional Issues
Presentation Type Research

3:25pm CST

The Judith Campaign: Amplifying Voices, Honoring Truth

Friday December 6, 2024 3:25pm - 4:20pm CST

Imperial 8

This session allows the attendees to have the opportunity to watch several Judith Campaign videos as they dive into the presenter's world perspective relating to justice, advocacy, equity, and pride for who they are. From there, the presenters will have the chance to discuss their thoughts on the campaign while being open to sharing their world perspective and its importance. The DC Developmental Disabilities Councilâ€™s mission is to create change that removes barriers to achieve full inclusion, diversity, and equity through our advocacy. The Judith Campaign's end goal is to celebrate the accomplishments of the individuals we support for their justice, the uncomfortable conversations they share, the direct support they do, finding ways to be included in their community despite their disability/sexual orientation or diverse group, their world perspective through their eyes, and finding solutions to make the world how we want.

Friday December 6, 2024 3:25pm - 4:20pm CST
Imperial 8 Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Breakout Sessions

Primary Topic Diversity and Social Impact
Themes of Interest Capacity Building for Inclusion
Key Words Journey, Undiscovered, Deserve, Integrity, Tale, History
Presentation Type General

4:35pm CST

How to Communicate Disability Policy Accessibly with Your Faith Community

Friday December 6, 2024 4:35pm - 5:30pm CST

Imperial 9

Through the principles of universal design and plain language communication, this presentation will share with participants strategies for communicating disability policy within one's faith community. Faith communities can be an essential support system for disabled people. Building disability policy knowledge in faith communities improves the quality of care faith-based direct service agencies provide. Faith communities can better support fellow members with disabilities in their community when they are informed on disability policy. Join Rev. Ben Bond who Co-Chairs the Interfaith Disability Advocacy Coalition in Washington DC. and Corey Himes, Policy Manager, who has been a long-time policy activist in the New Orleans community to learn how to effectively communicate disability policy in your faith community.

Presenters

Benjamin Bond

Friday December 6, 2024 4:35pm - 5:30pm CST
Imperial 9 Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Breakout Sessions

Primary Topic Diversity and Social Impact
Themes of Interest Other
Key Words Universal Design, Plain Language, Disability Policy, Faith Communities
Presentation Type General

5:45pm CST

Parent Cafes: Space to Connect for Complex Care Family Caregivers

Friday December 6, 2024 5:45pm - 7:15pm CST

Storyville Hall

Parents and caregivers of children with medical complexities (CMC) and adults with intellectual or developmental disability (AIDD) report feelings of isolation and loneliness, with difficulty in finding and engaging mitigating social supports. Parent Cafes, developed by Be Strong Families, is a model with evaluative proof that participant families improve strength and resilience. Cafes create a safe and supportive environment where participants come together to share experiences, joys, and concerns. The Indiana Complex Care Coordination Collaborative (IC4) developed, implemented, and evaluated monthly statewide virtual parent-led cafes focusing on empowering families to connect in community, learn about resources, and increase protective factors.

Presenters

Erika Thomison

Friday December 6, 2024 5:45pm - 7:15pm CST
Storyville Hall Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Poster Presentations

Primary Topic Diversity and Social Impact
Themes of Interest Family Support
Key Words Caregiver, Social Connection, Support, Community, Resource Network, Empowerment

5:45pm CST

Voices Not Yet Heard: Implementation of a State Instructional Mandate on Disability History and Awareness

Friday December 6, 2024 5:45pm - 7:15pm CST

Storyville Hall

Survey findings about implementation of a state instructional mandate on disability history and people with disabilities indicated that, while participants (irrespective of general or special education assignment) believed this instructional content was critical for K-12 students, they were not aware there was a mandate and required significant resources to meet this mandate and ensure that disabled people were involved in content design and implementation. Suggestions for change with a particular focus on including people with complex learning needs in curriculum development and implementation are provided.

Presenters

Mary Fisher

Friday December 6, 2024 5:45pm - 7:15pm CST
Storyville Hall Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Poster Presentations

Primary Topic Diversity and Social Impact
Themes of Interest Discrimination & Ableism
Key Words Ableism, K-12 Curriculum, Personel Prep
Presentation Type Research

10:00am CST

Vamos DC: Supporting the Latino Disability Community Living in DC

Saturday December 7, 2024 10:00am - 11:00am CST

Celestin Ballroom: Celestin F

This session provides an overview of Vamos DC, a collaborative initiative between District of Columbia government agencies, community-based organizations, and community members to connect more Latino residents with disabilities to services that support community inclusion and positive life outcomes. Vamos DC arose as a community-led solution to the challenge that, although Latinos make up 11% of DC's population, they represented only 2% of those served by the Department on Disability Services (DDS) in 2018. Within four years of Vamos DC's establishment, the number of Latino individuals served by DDS doubled. To achieve these positive results, trust had to be fostered between government agencies and Latino community members, necessitating a power-sharing approach. This session emphasizes the importance of learning from both successes and failures in efforts to share power with communities. Honest feedback, garnered through trust-building efforts, is crucial for effective collaboration.

Presenters

Claire Simon

Saturday December 7, 2024 10:00am - 11:00am CST
Celestin Ballroom: Celestin F Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Breakout Sessions

Primary Topic Diversity and Social Impact
Themes of Interest Family Support
Key Words Language-Access, Cultural-Competency, Power-Sharing, Community-Led, Collaboration
Presentation Type General

11:15am CST

Embracing Intersectionality and Advocating for Asset-Based Pedagogies in Special Education

Saturday December 7, 2024 11:15am - 12:15pm CST

Celestin Ballroom: Celestin C

Intersectionality is defined as the ways in which multiple systems of oppression interact to impact individuals who have been marginalized across their multiple identity markers (Crenshaw, 1989). DisCrit (Annamma et al., 2013) centers the intersection of race and dis/ability, but this has only been minimally explored relative to individuals with IDD (Kover et al., in press), as research often equates the experiences of all individuals with IDD (Goethals et al., 2015). Similarly, many clinicians and practitioners overemphasize intellectual ability and underestimate how intersectionality shapes an individual's experiences across health, educational, and social domains (Kover et al., in press). This structured discussion will explore how integrating frameworks of asset-based framings (LÃ³pez, 2017), community cultural wealth (Yosso, 2005), and presumptions of competence into educational settings can be used to disrupt barriers and reimagine opportunities for students with IDD.

Presenters

Alison Wilhelm

Doctoral Student, University of Washington

Hello! I am a current doctoral student at the University of Washington in Special Education. I was previously a teacher in a variety of placements in Nashville, Tennessee. My interest areas include reading development, instruction, and family literacy practices. I am currently working... Read More →

Saturday December 7, 2024 11:15am - 12:15pm CST
Celestin Ballroom: Celestin C Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Breakout Sessions

Primary Topic Diversity and Social Impact
Themes of Interest Other
Key Words Intersectionality, Asset-Based Pedagogy, Inclusive Education
Presentation Type General

4:15pm CST

Unleashing Neurodivergence in Education Work and Society

Saturday December 7, 2024 4:15pm - 5:15pm CST

Imperial 5B

Neurodiversity is a concept that acknowledges and celebrates the natural variations in human neurological functioning. Neurodivergence is the term for when someone's brain processes, learns, and/or behaves differently from what is considered "typical." Within this spectrum lies many conditions often misunderstood and stigmatized in society. This presentation advocates for a paradigm shift in how we perceive and approach neurodivergence, emphasizing the importance of embracing neurodiversity in education, work, and society at large. Attendees will leave this session with a comprehensive understanding of neurodiversity; ability to assess and challenge the traditional view of neurodivergence as a deficit; demonstrate tailored support and accommodations for neurodiverse students; explain the benefits of leveraging Neurodiversity in the workplace; and empowerment to challenge stereotypes, break down barriers, and advocate for policy changes that promote acceptance and inclusion.

Presenters

Dr. Jessica Hicksted

Software Developer/ Research Advocate / Volunteer Director, CACI / ND Outloud! / Invisible Disabilities Association

Saturday December 7, 2024 4:15pm - 5:15pm CST
Imperial 5B Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Breakout Sessions

Primary Topic Diversity and Social Impact
Themes of Interest Capacity Building for Inclusion
Key Words Neurodivergence, Social Change, Inclusion, School, Work, Social Advocacy, Empathy of Understanding
Presentation Type General