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.
Mixed methods designs are gaining traction in research for inclusive education, but there are still few examples of how mixed methods can inform intervention development. Learn how our team has used mixed and multi-methods research to develop an intervention that promotes social communication, language, and peer relationships for elementary-aged students with autism who are nonspeaking or have limited speech. Participants will learn about the components of the Enhanced Peer Network intervention, which include: (a) communication access through augmentative and alternative communication (AAC), (b) storybook lessons to promote social-emotional development for students with and without disabilities, and (c) support for peers and students with disabilities to promote social communication and engagement during play. Participants will also learn about the powerful roles mixed methods research can play in successfully bridging research-to-practice.
Elizabeth E. Biggs, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University and a member of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. Her work focuses on promoting social, communication, language, and literacy outcomes for children and youth with autism... Read More →
Friday December 6, 2024 11:15am - 12:15pm CST
Imperial 5AHyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113
Person-centered transition planning empowers people with disabilities to take charge of their goals for the future— fostering self-determination and meaningful outcomes. However, little is known about the extent to which educators involve youth in transition planning when youth are unable to use speech to be heard and understood. Our research team has been engaging in research focused on understanding the involvement of youth who use augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) in transition planning. We interviewed youth who use AAC, their parents, their special education teachers, and their speech-language pathologists about their experiences. Key findings highlight the challenges youth face and the support needed from each stakeholder in the transition planning process. Participants will gain powerful insight into these first-hand experiences and will also leave with ideas about the changes needed in practice to empower youth voices in their own transition planning.
Elizabeth E. Biggs, Ph.D. is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University and a member of the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center. Her work focuses on promoting social, communication, language, and literacy outcomes for children and youth with autism... Read More →
Friday December 6, 2024 2:15pm - 3:10pm CST
Imperial 5CHyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113
All students benefit from comprehensive literacy instruction. Literacy instruction is especially important for students with disabilities who have limited speech because aided augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) devices rely on printed language for communication. When students use aided AAC without literacy skills, they depend on the words and symbols provided by others. With literacy skills, students can say anything they want with only 26 letters of the alphabet. This poster will present research focused on the nature of literacy-focused individualized education program (IEP) goals of elementary-aged students with intellectual and developmental disabilities who were nonspeaking or had limited speech. We analyzed IEP goals for 36 elementary students with limited speech, exploring (a) the nature of literacy goals and (b) how parents viewed these goals. We will share findings and provide guidance to ensure access across literacy domains.
