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.

9:00am CST

Person Centered Planning and Website Portfolios in Action

Thursday December 5, 2024 9:00am - 12:00pm CST

Foster 2

Feeling stuck? Need new tools to expand possibility for students/job seekers? This workshop offers hands-on practice using Person Centered Planning tools to develop website portfolios for students/job seekers. The goal is to get unstuck, here's how. We'll start with the best practice of Person Centered Planning. Attendees will practice using tools to expand on skills and contributions, integrating a strengths-based approach. We will dig deep to develop strategies for success in education and employment, and then think creatively about new possibilities. Next, we'll explore how to use the information effectively. The second half of the workshop dives into creating website portfolios, which are dynamic resumes and marketing tools showcasing skills, experiences, and achievements. Attendees will set up accounts on Wix Tomorrow, a free platform, and explore tools and editor functions, including generative AI, to develop a sample website. So kick off TASH with us and let the good times roll!

Moderators

Katherine Titus

Presenters

Alison DeYoung

Training & Technical Assistance Manager, Wise

Alison DeYoung has worked in the field of transition and employment since 2008 in various roles as a direct support provider, job developer and special education teacher. She worked as the Lead Instructor of Campus Life with Project FOCUS at the University of Arizona, a model demonstration... Read More →

Thursday December 5, 2024 9:00am - 12:00pm CST
Foster 2 Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Day One Intensives

Primary Topic Employment
Themes of Interest Technology
Key Words Person-Centered Planning, Employment, Autonomy, Transition, Capacity Building
Presentation Type General

2:15pm CST

Empowering Voices: Participation of Youth Using AAC in Transition Planning

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

Imperial 5C

Person-centered transition planning empowers people with disabilities to take charge of their goals for the futureâ€” 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.

Presenters

Elizabeth Biggs

Assistant Professor, Vanderbilt University

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 5C Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Breakout Sessions

Primary Topic Transition
Themes of Interest Self-Determination
Key Words Transition to Adulthood, Self-Determination, Augmentative and Alternative Communication (AAC), Collaboration, Person-Centered Planning
Presentation Type Research

3:00pm CST

Creating Student-Designed Space for Nonspeaking/Minimally-Speaking Learners

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

Foster 2

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 â€œa space created with disability celebrated [that] feels like a friendâ€™s hug folding me in its warmth.â€ 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.

Presenters

Lisa Mihalich Quinn

Executive Director, Reach Every Voice

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 2 Hyatt Regency, 601 Loyola Avenue, New Orleans, LA 70113

Breakout Sessions

Primary Topic Community Living
Themes of Interest Autonomy
Key Words Augmentative & Alternative Communication, Student-Directed Learning, Presuming Competence, Person-Centered Planning, Self-Advocacy
Presentation Type General