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There are approximately 400 breakout sessions as part of
the TASH Annual Conference. It is not necessary to sign up for breakout
sessions in advance; however, space is limited and is first come/first
serve. All sessions are scheduled within a topic area. Many of these
strands are in the same room for the duration, others are spread out
across rooms and days. This is a tentative listing only. The final program
is distributed onsite and will contain the location for sessions.
Accessing General Education
Research and evaluation data demonstrate that students with disabilities
who are included in general education classrooms make better gains than
those in pull-out or otherwise segregated programs. In addition, students
who are included and have access to the general education curriculum show
a strong trend toward improved student outcomes (academic, behavior, and
social) for both special education and
general education students. This strand will focus on specific
strategies that ensure that students with significant disabilities access
the general education curriculum in meaningful ways.
Accessing General Ed Specific Strategies for K-12
Research and evaluation data demonstrate that students with disabilities
who are included in general education classrooms make better gains than
those in pull-out or otherwise segregated programs. In addition, students
who are included and have access to the general education curriculum show
a strong trend toward improved student outcomes (academic, behavior, and
social). This strand highlights strategies targeted at a specific grade
level within the K-12 system.
Adult
Issues-Art
Art
has long been recognized both as an expression of creativity, and as a
form of expression and release of emotions, feelings, and messages. The
sessions in this strand will take place in the Exhibit Hall. Artists will
demonstrate the techniques and the resulting art will remain on display.
Advocacy
In keeping with TASH’s mission to eliminate barriers to equity,
opportunity, and inclusion, this dynamic strand features sessions new
tools for enhancing advocacy skills and creating change
Aging
Sessions in this strand focus on heightening awareness of the possibility
that aging individuals with
developmental disabilities may be experiencing the onset of dementia and
may need planning for end of life issues, or incorporation of techniques
and strategies into the person centered planning process that can be
effective in helping someone have the highest quality of life possible
while meeting new and even more complex challenges.
Autism
You can't open a newspaper or magazine without seeing an article on autism
spectrum disorder. The rise is alarming. Families, individuals, educators
and professionals need the latest on strategies to support and educate
individuals with autism. This strand will provide some of the leading
experts in helping us to think about and develop effective and efficient
strategies.
Changing
Attitudes
The mission of TASH is to stretch boundaries and eliminate obstacles to
inclusive lives. The realization of this requires an unwavering
commitment to values and a relentless pursuit of systems change.
This strand highlights successful strategies for change.
Communication
People with varying disability labels are often misperceived as being
incompetent or less able because of the inability to speak. This strand
focuses on the value that all people can be competent communicators, given
the opportunity to develop methods of communication, quality education,
environmental awareness, and individualized accommodations and supports.
Curriculum
Modification Instructional Strategies
All
students with disabilities, including those who have been labeled with
severe disabilities, can benefit considerably from the learning
opportunities that occur in general education. This strand includes
sessions on specific strategies for ensuring access to general education
curriculum for learners with diverse needs.
Early
Childhood
Strand
Coordinators; Elizabeth Erwin and Mary Jane Brotherson
Innovative ideas continue to emerge for providing personalized and high
quality supports for young children with significant disabilities and
their families. This strand will showcase some of the latest research and
recommended practices in the use of augmentative and alternative
communication within naturally occurring contexts. In addition, this
strand will explore complex issues related to the implementation of
exemplary inclusive education in early childhood settings.
Education-Alternate
Assessment
This strand deals with alternate assessment topics such as development,
implementation, scoring, and instructional influence. As alternate
assessment continues to be refined to reflect not only federal regulations
but instructional significance, as well and as the data begin to inform as
to the instructional impact as a result of assessment, these issues and
the presentations that will address them are important for those who wish
to improve educational outcomes for students labeled with severe
disabilities.
Education-Self-Determination
Promoting the self-determination of students with disabilities has become
best practice in special education, particularly in promoting more
positive transitions from school to post-school life. This strand offers
strategies to promote self-determination
skills.
Education-Systems
Change for Effective Inclusive Education
Changing across levels require a change in the way both general
educators and special educators teach and collaborate.
In this strand, several different approaches to address the
barriers and identify solutions so that students with disabilities can be
included as members of their school districts will be presented.
Eliminating Aversive Interventions, Restraints, and
Seclusion
Employment
Strand
Coordinator: John Butterworth
Reaching the vision of valued work for all is a collaborative effort that
requires attention to emerging support strategies, organizational change,
and systems change at the state and federal levels. This strand includes
opportunities at each of these levels, profiling the process of
transforming traditional organizations, supporting individuals through
values-based planning, creative supports, and emerging strategies such as
self employment, and state level initiatives for change.
 Family Supports
Strand
Sponsor:
California
Chapter of TASH (Cal-TASH)
Strand
Coordinator: Lynda Baumgardner
Join family members, self-advocates
and professionals as we learn new strategies and become systems change
agents for ourselves and our communities. This strand will include a
roundtable lunch discussion that will give families an opportunity to
share their successes and challenges as using community resources and
creative problem solving during the ‘wait” for services. Sessions
throughout the conference, not listed here, will be coded in the program
to indicate that they have a family focus.
Guardianship
Alternatives: Melding TASH Values with Best Practice
Strand
Coordinator: Dohn Hoyle
This strand includes sessions that discuss guardianship as the last civil
rights frontier, an exploration of strategies for self-determination,
issues related to wills and trusts, and practices in alternatives to legal
guardianship.
Inclusive
Education in Urban Settings
Strand
Coordinators: Anne Smith
and Elizabeth Kozleski
This strand addresses
the particular challenges of inclusion in urban elementary, middle, or
high schools — and provides information at the building, district, and
global levels to successfully address them.
 Individualized
Supports in Community Living
Strand
Sponsor: Total
Living Concepts
Strand
Coordinators: Patti Scott and
Joe Wykowski
How do you embrace choice and control on a daily basis? Join this strand
to hear from individuals and support agencies taking part in the journey
of individualized supports. Presentations include person-controlled
housing, circles of support, individual supports, capacity building, and
advocacy.
International Issues in Inclusive Education
 Strand
Sponsor: Center on Disability and Community
Inclusion / University of Vermont
Moderated by Anne Smith, Diane Ryndak & Ashleigh Malloy
Disability rights advocacy, the
UN Millennium Development Goal of universal primary education by 2015
lead by the UNESCO Education For All initiative, and World Bank poverty
reduction strategies have helped to create a context for nations around
the world to pursue policies and practices that promote increased
access and participation of individuals with disabilities in
educational, community living, and employment settings.
Inclusion has required us to question the nature and meaning of
disability as well as how we
construct human service systems across medical, education,
employment, community living, and social welfare sectors.
 Literacy
Strand Sponsor:
Chapman
University
–
School
of
Education
Strand
Coordinator: Amy Staples
Literacy is a
critical life skill. The past
decade has marked a shift in research, practice, and learning.
This strand will offer participants the opportunity to become
familiar with current research, best practices, and outcomes related to
literacy instruction for all learners.
Peer Supports in the General Education Classrooms
Inclusive schooling refers to a wide variety of experiences in which
students with and without disabilities are brought together for valuable
learning activities. The creation of an inclusive school environment
occurs when students not only learn together, but also learn to respect
and value each other's differences. This strand will highlight strategies
that facilitate meaningful interaction amongst peers.
People of Color with
Significant Disabilities and Their Families
Strand Coordinators: Wanda Blanchett and Ralph Edwards
This strand was formed to address the needs of people of color with
significant disabilities and their families. Despite much evidence that
suggests that people of color experience significant disabilities at
disproportionate rates when compared to their white peers, little
attention has been given to ensuring that essential education and
community-based services and resources are tailored to their needs. For
this reason, this strand offers sessions that will inform educators and
service providers of the prevalence of development disabilities in
communities of color, the strengths and resiliency of individuals of color
with significant disabilities and their families, and community and
political action that is needed to ensure that people of color with
significant disabilities and their families receive equitable access in
all arenas and facets of life. The strand is being co-sponsored by The
Joint Center for Political and Economic Studies (www.jointcenter.org), a
national, nonprofit research and public policy institution, who will be
publishing the proceedings from this strand in cooperation with TASH.
People First of Milwaukee Sponsor A Celebration of
Community
Positive
Behavioral Support
Strand
Coordinators: Tim Knoster, Sharon Lohrmann, Rob O’Neill
This strand will cover principles and procedures concerning supporting
individuals exhibiting challenging behaviors in various school and
community settings. Both conceptual and procedural aspects of PBS will be
addressed at the introductory and advanced levels.
Postsecondary Education: Fielding the Next Set of
Questions.
Strand
Coordinator: Caren Sax
As students, families, and
professionals continue the journey into postsecondary education, they are
bumping up against new barriers, finding new allies, and creating new
strategies for successfully accessing continuing education. The TASH
Postsecondary Committee is drafting a resolution on this important topic
and will have it available throughout the day for your feedback and
recommendations.
Prevention
of Abuse
One of the most important reasons to empower
individuals with disabilities to speak up for themselves is to make them
less vulnerable to abuse. This strand focuses on this important issue.
Recreation: Building Inclusive Recreation Connections
in Schools and Communities
Strand
Coordinator: Beth Dixon
This strand offers opportunities to learn tools for inclusive recreation
in the schools and community. Recreation
is another way for people to connect with the community so everyone is
accepted, belongs, and is a valued community member.
Sessions will feature information on inclusive recreation
opportunities.
The
Re-Affirmation of Community
A special symposium in collaboration with the Center for
Self-Determination.
This
is a full-day session held from 10:00 am – 4:00 PM on Wednesday,
November 9th .
Registration
is in addition to the full conference fee: $65 for TASH Members and
$75 for Non-Members More
Info |
Self-Determination/Re-Affirmation of Community
Strand
Coordinators: Pat Carver and Dennis Harkins
The Center for Self-Determination sees supports and public dollars as a
means to a personally purposeful and meaningful life seeking the same
goals as all others. The Center is sponsoring this strand, which will
focus on meaningful lives with solid relationships, membership in the
community, chosen spiritual practices, and promising economic
futures.
Self-Direction
as a Part of Life
Equity,
Opportunity
, Inclusion…. All of these goals can only be achieved by people with
disabilities at the helm, steering the course of their lives. This strand
includes a variety of sessions, all focused on the concept of
self-direction.
Special Health Care in
Inclusive Schools: Back to the Basics
Strand coordinators: Donna
Lehr, Meira Orentlicher, and Patricia McDaid
Students with labels of severe multiple disabilities often have complex
needs that require program planners have specialized knowledge and engage
in careful program planning and ongoing collaboration to assure the
students receive appropriate education and related services that maximize
their opportunities to learn. This
strand was designed to provide conference participants with information
about some of issues and practices essential to meet these students’
needs. Included is information
about the process of integration of educational and related service needs
as well as basic information about hygienic care providing,
nutritional considerations, feeding, positioning and handling,
sensory processing and participation, mobility equipment, and transitional
planning. The strand will
conclude with a cracker-barrel session designed to enable attendees to
discuss and share information on issues and practices in supporting this
population of students in today’s schools.
Spirituality
Strand
Coordinator: Maureen Keyes
The Presentations in this strand are as varied and unique as the
definitions of spirituality. Hear several people describe how their
spirituality weaves through their lives to bring strength, meaning and
connection.
 The Many Faces of Self-Advocacy: A special focus
strand presented by Arizona TASH and TASH at NAU with the Hozhoni
Foundation
Sponsored
and Coordinated by
Arizona
TASH Chapter
This strand is an opportunity for self-advocates and facilitators to share
what they are learning about self-advocacy and to come together to learn
about self-advocacy events in
Arizona
.
Teacher
Preparation: Stepping Boldly into an Uncertain Future
Strand
Coordinator: Lewis
Jackson
Challenges to inclusive education, the shifting landscape around
content standards and large-scale testing, changing demographics, and
questions regarding the education fields continued commitment to education
of all children and youth offer personnel preparation programs both
opportunities and dilemmas for the coming years. These presentations
combine discussions of what we are committed to, what we know already, and
what lies ahead to help us navigate these sometimes muddy waters.
Transition
Strand
Coordinator:
Pat Rogan
This strand focuses on cutting edge transition strategies. Topics include
effective transition planning and services, facilitating
self-determination and student involvement in transition planning,
transition services for youth ages 18-21, parent and sibling perspectives
on transition, and interagency collaboration and funding mechanisms for
seamless transitions.
Values-Systems
Change
The mission of TASH is to stretch boundaries and eliminate
obstacles to inclusive lives. The realization of this requires an
unwavering commitment to values and a relentless pursuit of systems
change. This strand
highlights successful strategies for change.
The Very
Real Risk of Re-institutionalization Strand
Strand Coordinators: Debbie Gilmer and Ric Crowley
The presentations in this strand will focus on the need to
never let our guard down due to continuing pressure to backslide from
community inclusion to congregate settings. Buildings and “programs”
continue to be constructed in the midst of the disability civil rights
movement. Something is terribly wrong! Success stories, strategies, data
and personal experiences will be presented and discussions will focus on
how to (nuts and bolts) counter the
critics and segregationists.
The
Evolution of the National Wait List Projects
Strand
Coordinators: Cynthia Levine and Mary
Lou Maloney
This strand addresses the 10
year evolution of what has been defined as one of the most egregious
crises in the disability community across the country.
Elderly parents who have taken care of their sons and daughters all
of their adult life are afraid to die because no plans exist for their
childs future after they are gone. This
situation came to be known as the Wait Lists.
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