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.
A multidisciplinary approach involving speech-language pathologists, educators, occupational therapists, and other professionals leads to improved communication outcomes for individuals using Augmentative & Alternative Communication (AAC) systems (McNaughton & Light, 2013). Despite this knowledge, AAC training opportunities for school staff often focus only on SLPs and less frequently on the direct support professionals assisting students on a daily basis. Our session focuses on the benefits of a multidisciplinary training approach, which facilitates the generalization and maintenance of communication skills across different settings and communication partners. This collaboration promotes communication and inclusion in a wider range of contexts (Millar et al., 2019). Multidisciplinary collaboration provides valuable opportunities for professional development and knowledge exchange among team members, enhancing AAC service delivery in educational settings (Beukelman & Mirenda, 2013).
Lisa Mihalich Quinn, M.A / M.Ed. is a licensed special educator with more than 15 years of experience making academic content accessible for neurodiverse students and learners who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). She is a former Public Schools teacher and the... Read More →
Friday December 6, 2024 11:15am - 12:15pm CST
Imperial 8Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113
Family support is essential for effective augmentative and alternative communication (AAC) implementation. Family level intervention is necessary to ensure this support, but few interventions exist. We will share the development process utilized as part of an IES funded grant to create an aided language modeling intervention for SLPs and families.
Dr. Sarah Douglas is an Associate Professor at Michigan State University where she directs the RADD lab (Research on Autism and Developmental Disabilities). Her work focuses on paraeducator supports, augmentative and alternative communication, children with extensive support needs... Read More →
Friday December 6, 2024 11:15am - 12:15pm CST
Celestin Ballroom: Celestin AHyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113
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
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 →
Preparing teachers to effectively support students with extensive support needs and complex communication needs who require Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC) necessitates collaboration with speech pathologists, Board Certified Behavior Analysts, parents, and families. Training should cover AAC methods, Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, and practical experiences and should be taught through coursework and meaningful clinical experiences. Collaborative partnerships ensure educators gain insights into best practices and access resources, and ongoing professional development keeps teachers aware of current best practices. Cultivating a school culture that values diversity in communicative expression is crucial for creating inclusive learning environments where all students can thrive academically and socially.
Friday December 6, 2024 2:15pm - 3:10pm CST
Imperial 11Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113
Independence is commonly seen as one of the primary goals for augmentative/alternative communication (AAC) users. It is also commonly defined as the ability of a person to use their AAC method without assistance. However, many AAC users see independence more broadly in terms of having freedom of expression and self-determination in their lives. They also see that support from skilled communication partners is a critical part of the process. This presentation will focus on the journey that one AAC user has taken towards having greater independence in his communication and in his life. He will share strategies for communication partners to use in supporting AAC users with greater independence in their communication.
Education and Communication Specialist, PC Communication Supports
I currently work for the Howard Center in Burlington, Vermont as an educational and communication specialist, providing training and consultation in the areas of augmentative/alternative communication, assistive technology and literacy for children and adults with developmental disabilities... Read More →
Friday December 6, 2024 3:25pm - 4:20pm CST
Celestin Ballroom: Celestin GHyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113
For children, social interaction plays a critical role in overall social, emotional, and cognitive development, however, not every child has equal opportunity to engage socially with their peers. Specifically, children with disabilities and complex communication needs (CCN) have limited meaningful opportunities to interact with their peers in inclusive educational spaces. To better support young children with CCN in early childhood educational settings, it is imperative to understand what opportunities exist naturally for social interaction and communication. This observational study investigates these naturally occurring communication opportunities for students with disabilities and CCN as well as other contextual factors that may impact social communication in inclusive classroom settings.
Communication skills are essential to everyday life to express our thoughts, needs, feelings, and to connect with others. Thus, access to communication should be available to all. Yet, due to complex communication needs, many children with significant cognitive disabilities do not have access to reliable communication modes. For these presymbolic communicators, we must take on creative approaches to improve access to communication. I used qualitative interviews to explore how 10 educators of young children with significant cognitive disabilities think about supporting complex communication needs. Findings suggest that, in addition to extensive support needs, factors such as, quality of relationships, school environments, and perceptions of disability affect communication outcomes. Findings also highlight strengths in educators’ commitment to their students but identify a discord between educators’ expectations and beliefs vs. actual feasibility due to school environment and resources.
It is widely understood that communication in the 21st century involves the use of technology for a wide range of communication tasks and interactions. The use of email, texting, and other forms of digital communication is essential for participation in society. This is true for everyone in society whether you communicate by speaking or by other forms of communication such as augmentative/alternative communication (AAC). Effective communication in these different environments requires a variety of technologies that in the case of people who use augmentative/alternative communication (AAC users) need to be individualized to their specific access needs. Gaining access to the right technology and support to use it is often not an easy process and requires ongoing advocacy to ensure success. This presentation will focus on the stories of several AAC users who have used technology successfully for communication.
Education and Communication Specialist, PC Communication Supports
I currently work for the Howard Center in Burlington, Vermont as an educational and communication specialist, providing training and consultation in the areas of augmentative/alternative communication, assistive technology and literacy for children and adults with developmental disabilities... Read More →
Saturday December 7, 2024 8:45am - 9:45am CST
Imperial 5CHyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113
We all agree that communication and the ability to communicate is an essential part of our lives. Everyone communicates somehow. Too often with people with disabilities we hear staff say "I understand what they mean" or "When he/she does this, I know it means that" However, all too often we as support/advocates stop there and do not encourage the person to increase their communication so that others can understand also. What we need to understand is when people do not have communication/a voice that is understood by many they are vulnerable and at risk for abuse, exploitation, segregation and institutionalization. As providers, advocate and supporters, it is our responsibility to support people to develop and grow their voice and use it to advocate for themselves. We as providers, supporters and advocates cannot remain the interpreters and voices for others. We are exploring ways to support people to develop their voices and be their own advocates.
Nonspeaking and minimally-speaking learners are among the most marginalized students in school settings. Historically, students without spoken communication have been segregated to self-contained learning environments that offer students little to no choice in their education. While families and advocates still routinely have to fight for access, inclusion, and equity in schools, communities like ours have come together to build learning environments that meet the expressed needs of our nonspeaking and minimally-speaking students. By listening to and learning from these individuals, Reach Every Voice has designed multiple learning environments that our students describe as “a space created with disability celebrated [that] feels like a friend’s hug folding me in its warmth.†This presentation explores how communities around the nation have successfully designed learning environments driven by the voiced desires of their nonspeaking and minimally-speaking students.
Lisa Mihalich Quinn, M.A / M.Ed. is a licensed special educator with more than 15 years of experience making academic content accessible for neurodiverse students and learners who use Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC). She is a former Public Schools teacher and the... Read More →
Saturday December 7, 2024 3:00pm - 4:00pm CST
Foster 2Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113
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.
