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.

1:00pm CST

Research Colloquium: Nothing About Us Without Us: Disability-Centered Participatory Action Research

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

2ND Floor - Foster 1

This colloquium centers youth and adults with intellectual and developmental disabilities and complex support needs as essential research partners within six participatory research projects, including inclusive research, participatory action research, community-based participatory research, and youth participatory action research. Each research team embodies the processes and principles of participatory research by how they center and amplify youth and adult experiences and perspectives to influence the policies, practices, scholarship, and systems that impact them most. Authentic equity, justice, access, and inclusion cannot be actualized without the epistemic agency of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities and complex support needs. This session calls for more participatory research controlled by them from theorization to dissemination.

This proposed four-hour session consists of 6 research paper presentations that will last 25 minutes each. We will reserve 10 minutes total for the session chair’s introduction and closing as well as 10 minutes for discussant remarks. There will also be a 10 minute break. This allows for 10 minutes for questions/discussion, dialogue/resource sharing with attendees after each presentation.

5 minutes: Introduction to the overall session and speakers, Colloquium Chair – Hasan Ko

25 minutes: “What Matters Most to Adults with Disabilities in Their Daily Lives: A Nationwide Project” - Paul Betz, Thomas Caswell, Whitley Daper, David Frye, Jess Kilpeck, Hasan Ko, Mark Utter, Nicole Villemaire, Emily Anderson, and Amanda Miller
10 minutes: Questions and discussion

25 minutes: “Participatory Action Research on the Service Planning Experiences of Massachusetts Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities” – Anne Fracht and Hezzy Smith
10 minutes: Questions and discussion

25 minutes: “Person Centered Planning and Home Community-Based Services on the Move” – David Taylor, Chaquetta Stuckey, and Anne Fracht
10 minutes: Questions and discussion

10 minutes: Break

25 minutes: “Collaborating With And Promoting Youth Voices in Research With Youth With Cerebral Palsy Who Do Not Speak And Who Use AAC” – Ramona Schwartz-Johnston
10 minutes: Questions and discussion

25 minutes: “Applying Inclusive Methods to Shed Light on the COVID-19 Pandemic Experiences of Group Home Residents with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities in Massachusetts” – Anne Fracht and Hezzy Smith
10 minutes: Questions and discussion

25 minutes: “Working Together as an Inclusive Team” – Pauline Bosma and Oscar Hughes
10 minutes: Questions and discussion

10 minutes: Remarks, Discussant – Amanda L. Miller

5 minutes: Closing, Colloquium Chair – Hasan Ko

Presenters

Amanda Miller

Thursday December 5, 2024 1:00pm - 5:00pm CST
2ND Floor - Foster 1 Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Research Colloquium

Primary Topic Human Rights
Themes of Interest Systems Change, Capacity Building for Inclusion
Key Words Community-Based Participatory Research, Complex Support Needs, Inclusive Research, Participatory Action Research, Youth and Adults with Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities, Youth Participatory Action Research
Presentation Type Research

5:45pm CST

Adapting ELA Texts For Students with Complex Support Needs

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

3RD Floor - Storyville Hall

Adapted books can serve as a support for students with complex support needs in general education classes. However, creating adapted books can be difficult for a special education teacher with a demanding schedule. Therefore, this session presents a feasible and efficient process for creating adapted books extended from the guidelines originally developed by Apitz et al. (2017). This process begins with special educators becoming familiar with the story through summarizing and outlining the original text. Next, collaboration with the general education teacher is recommended to identify the essential themes and key vocabulary. Special educators are encouraged to follow the book's plot structure and use visual supports, such as images or videos, based on key events in the text. Also included in this session are suggestions on how teachers can more effectively and efficiently adapt books using modern technology tools, such as ChatGPT and DALL-E.

Moderators

Roxanne Loyless

Doctoral Student, The University of Kansas

Roxanne Loyless is a second-year Ph.D. student in Special Education at The University of Kansas. Her research interests center on inclusive education practices, strategies, and supports for students with significant support needs.

Presenters

Jennifer Kurth

Professor, University of Kansas

Inclusive Education

Alison Zagona

Assistant Professor, University of Kansas - Department of Special Education

I am a researcher and special education teacher educator, and I am passionate about advocating for inclusive educational experiences for students with extensive support needs.

Friday December 6, 2024 5:45pm - 7:15pm CST
3RD Floor - Storyville Hall Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Poster Presentations

Primary Topic Inclusive Education
Themes of Interest K-12 Education
Key Words Adapted Book, Complex Support Needs, Literacy, Inclusion, Generative Artificial Intelligence
Presentation Type General

10:00am CST

Supports for Students with Complex Needs in Grade-Aligned Lessons

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

3RD Floor - Ballroom: Celestin G

Students with complex support needs are at risk of not receiving adequate personalized supports during grade-aligned instruction in general education. To ensure access to the general education curriculum and environment, special educators need expertise to provide effective supports to students with complex needs. This study examined what supports teachers assigned in response to a piloted intervention intended to help teachers better understand how to support students while maintaining grade-aligned learning. An analysis of 25 priority plans for K-12 students with complex support needs was conducted using a qualitative reflexive thematic approach. We found special education teachers undertake labor-intensive and creative preparation of supports in addition to bearing the primary responsibility of implementation. In addition, visual supports, peer supports, and systematic instruction practices were found to be widely used.

Moderators

Roxanne Loyless

Doctoral Student, The University of Kansas

Presenters

Jennifer Kurth

Professor, University of Kansas

Inclusive Education

Samantha Gross Toews

Assistant Professor, Cal State University Northridge

Samantha Toews is an assistant professor at California State University Northridge in the Special Education Department. She was previously a special education teacher at WISH Charter School. Her research focusses teacher preparation and professional development to promote inclusive... Read More →

Saturday December 7, 2024 10:00am - 11:00am CST
3RD Floor - Ballroom: Celestin G Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Breakout Sessions

Primary Topic Inclusive Education
Themes of Interest K-12 Education
Key Words Inclusive Practices, Supports, Curriculum, Lesson Planning, Complex Support Needs
Presentation Type Research

11:15am CST

Deciding What to Teach: Prioritizing Outcomes For Students with CSN

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

3RD Floor - Ballroom: Celestin A

To help teachers identify priority grade-aligned learning goals to be taught in general education settings for students with complex support needs, we developed a priority planning intervention and tested it with 41 teachers. We determined if the priority planning intervention changed teacher planning for inclusive academic instruction, identified the general education content teachers prioritized, assessed the social validity of the priority planning intervention, and measured the extent to which students learned prioritized goals when taught entirely in general education classrooms. Our findings revealed that teachers were more likely to develop instruction based on the general education curriculum after the intervention. Teachers developed primarily math, communication, and academic vocabulary goals. Students were successful in learning those prioritized goals when taught entirely in general education settings, and teachers reported the intervention was helpful and efficient.

Moderators

Jennifer Kurth

Professor, University of Kansas

Inclusive Education

Presenters

Samantha Gross Toews

Assistant Professor, Cal State University Northridge

Roxanne Loyless

Doctoral Student, The University of Kansas

Saturday December 7, 2024 11:15am - 12:15pm CST
3RD Floor - Ballroom: Celestin A Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Breakout Sessions

Primary Topic Inclusive Education
Themes of Interest Capacity Building for Inclusion
Key Words Academic Instruction, Planning, Complex Support Needs
Presentation Type Research

3:00pm CST

Bridging Beliefs and Guidelines: Exploring Educators' Views on Paraprofessional Implementation

Saturday December 7, 2024 3:00pm - 4:00pm CST

4TH Floor - Imperial 11

This study investigated the alignment between special education teachers' beliefs and professional guidelines regarding the roles and responsibilities of paraprofessionals. Paraprofessionals, essential in providing support to students with disabilities, often receive inconsistent training and are assigned varied tasks across educational settings. Through a national survey of certified special education teachers, this research explored how educators' beliefs align with the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC) guidelines and explores differences in these beliefs across various educational placements (general education, resource, self-contained, and separate schools). The findings reveal significant variations in alignment, with higher agreement observed in inclusive settings. This study underscores the need for tailored professional development to enhance paraprofessional support and highlights the impact of educational context on teachers' perceptions and expectations.

Presenters

Mary Mansouri

Doctoral Student, University of Kansas - Department of Special Education

Mary Curran Mansouri is a doctoral student at the University of Kansas in the Department of Special Education. Her research focuses on inclusive education and understanding interactions that enhance learning and socialization for students with complex support needs.

Saturday December 7, 2024 3:00pm - 4:00pm CST
4TH Floor - Imperial 11 Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Breakout Sessions

Primary Topic Inclusive Education
Themes of Interest Capacity Building for Inclusion
Key Words Paraprofessionals, Teacher Beliefs, Inclusive Education, Students with Complex Support Needs, Teacher Preparation
Presentation Type Research