2020 TASH Conference - Virtual Edition

Day 1 Intensives: Human Rights Track

11:15 AM-12:30 PM EST: Protecting the Rights of People with Disabilities During COVID-19
Presenter: Samantha Crane, Jennifer Mathis, Anita Cameron
The Autistic Self Advocacy Network and the Bazelon Center will describe their work to enforce the right of people with disabilities to access health care during the COVID-19 pandemic. We have reached out to other advocates, including the Disability Visibility Project and Not Dead Yet, as co-presenters. Starting early on in the COVID-19 pandemic, numerous disability advocates raised concerns with hospital and state plans on allocation of scarce medical resources, which either explicitly or effectively deprioritized people with disabilities in need of life-saving care. In response, a coalition of national and local advocates used a variety of strategies to ensure that states and hospitals adopted more equitable policies on allocation of resources. Advocates used similar strategies to address other potentially discriminatory policies, including policies that limited individuals' access to in-person supports while hospitalized.

12:45 - 2:00 PM EST: Supported Decision Making: From Dream to Reality
Presenters: Dana Lloyd, John McCarty
Supported Decision-Making is essential in order for people with disabilities to control all aspects of their lives. This workshop will not only take you on a journey to explore supported decision-making from conception to implementation, as we follow one young man's path to make his own decisions pursue his dreams, but offer practical tools for developing (or assisting someone else to develop) a supported decision-making plan. This workshop will feature a panel of presenters including an Autistic person, an advocate and a parent will share what they have learned from the process of using supported decision making to overturn a guardianship, how to implement those principles and practices, as well as a the role of parents and supporters.

2:15 - 3:30 PM EST: Leaving State Guardianship: My Life, My Choices
Presenter: Whitney Kays, Maegan Pirtle
This presentation follows the story of Shanae, who was assigned state guardianship many years ago. As a result, major life decisions were chosen for her: where to live, who she lived with, how she spent her day, etc. In 2016, she partnered with Mattingly Edge to imagine and create a fundamentally different lifestyle. In late 2018, one of her biggest dreams became a reality: Shanae moved into her own home and began looking for someone to be her private guardian. This was a long and difficult road, but she persisted! Hear from Shanae and her private guardian on how these and other changes have affected her life. Attendees will also hear from Mattingly Edge, her service provider, to hear how they were able to help make Shanae's dreams become a reality, including having a hands-on approach in recruiting a private guardian, locating a low-income landlord, making her home accessible, and recruiting a team of supporters for Shanae to spend her time pursuing valued social roles.

3:45 - 5:00 PM EST: #BlackDisabledLivesMatter
Presenter: Parris Boyd
This session will give a brief overview of the development of the #BlackLivesMatter movement, why it is important for the disability perspective to be incorporated within it, and how to do that. It is important to recognize that none of us can isolate any particular aspect of our identities that we are marginalized by. This is particularly important for black disabled people who are at the intersection of at least two identities that have higher rates of interaction with the police. Both the disability rights movement as well as the #BlackLivesMatter movement have important implications for their lives, which means that their need to be represented in both movements. The disability movement and #BlackLivesMatter are movements that started in response to inequities within their respective communities. The disability movement is still fighting hard for things like jobs, inclusion and healthcare while the #BlackLivesMatter movement was created in response to police brutality.