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.
Service providers frequently struggle with limited time and money to create needed assistive technology solutions. This session will discuss and demonstrate over 100 assistive technology solutions that can be created in minutes using the “…ABLE†principles: adjustable, portable, collapsible, reusable, affordable, repurpose, full, washable, repositionable, and more. Discover new and amazing tools, materials, and techniques for rapid creation of assistive technology solutions to support full and inclusive school and community participation.
This presentation will explore the transformative potential of AI tools like ChatGPT and Copilot in enhancing the lives of individuals with developmental disabilities. We will demonstrate practical applications of these tools in the workplace, such as improving communication, streamlining tasks, and fostering independence. Additionally, we will discuss how AI can support personal life activities, from managing daily routines to accessing information and learning new skills. Attendees will gain insights into integrating AI technologies to promote autonomy, efficiency, and overall quality of life for individuals with developmental disabilities. Join us to discover innovative strategies for integrating AI to support and empower individuals with developmental disabilities.
Customer Service Relations, Washington State DSHS/DDA
I have been working at DDA for 28 years, and I am a life-long advocate for disability rights. In 2002, I was appointed by President Bush for the President's Committee on Developmental Disabilities where I advocated to change the name of the Committee to use respectful language and... Read More →
In this engaging presentation, presenters will discuss past research on writing instruction for students with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) and describe two recent studies on the effectiveness of an intervention package including constant time delay, sentence frames, and technology-assisted instruction on: (a) writing within a shared story reading and (b) small group writing instruction for students with IDD. Additionally, we will provide teachers with writing examples that can be implemented in their classrooms without the need for additional funding.
Professor, University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Fred Spooner is Professor of Special Education at UNC Charlotte. Dr. Spooner has researched and written about instructional strategies for students with severe disabilities since the 1980s. Recently, he has focused on alternate assessment and linking both assessment and instruction... Read More →
Technology to support individuals with intensive support needs is exploding in development and innovation. Based on interviews and conversations with teacher candidates, cooperating teachers, university supervisors, and parents of students with significant disabilities, dissemination of information and current awareness of the application of innovative technology was assessed. A program was designed to provide current information and resources/skills to stay up-to-date with the valuable assistive technologies and artificial intelligence supports.
As students become increasingly diverse in institutions of higher education, it is up to the professors involved in the teaching and learning process to determine how to best make students’ learning accessible. This ensures that students with disabilities and complex needs have access to appropriate accommodations. This research study examined the use of UDL in college classrooms to meet student learning needs. The purpose was to determine the perspectives of students on the accessibility of their learning in regard to their traditional undergraduate special education course. We sought to determine the perceptions of the students’ accessibility to the curriculum and their learning experiences. Based on their unique needs and preferences, college learners respond to instruction differently. UDL uses these differences from the starting point to design effective learning opportunities. Providing options for engagement, learning experiences, and products of learning will be explored.
The presentation will discuss a single case study. The study examined if using video modeling (VM) is an effective method for teaching augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) to children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Three children with ASD took part in the study. A multiple-probe across participants design was used. Participants' responses (task analysis) were used as dependent variables, and VM (short video clips) presented on an iPad was used as an independent variable. Baseline, intervention, and 1-week maintenance conditions were conducted to collect data. Results of the study indicates that using VM can help children with ASD effectively acquire communication skills and maintain the acquired skills.
