Welcome to the 2020 TASH Conference - Virtual Edition website! We’re so glad you are here!
Each year, the TASH Conference brings together individuals with significant disabilities and their allies 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 advocates, leaders, and subject matter experts from every corner of the disability community. Conference attendees play an important role in supporting individuals with significant disabilities to overcome various barriers in order to live their best lives. Central to this work is the premise that individuals reach their optimal potential only when they are given the opportunity to live, work and thrive across the lifespan in the same communities we are all members of. The conference is intentionally designed to support the interests of professors and researchers from leading institutions; those involved in local, state, and federal governments and public policy; special and general educators, and school administrators; home and community-based service providers; students, family members, and most importantly, self-advocates with lived experience.
This year, while we are taking the conference virtually due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we believe that our unique approach to providing exceptional first-rate content and building strong community ties and connections across various stakeholders will yield an extraordinary event! We have taken extra steps to bring people closer together during these times, as well as to create an amazing virtual environment that expands our knowledge, spurs our creative thinking, and focuses on healthy living and having fun! Our conference theme, Feel the Power of Inclusion, reinforces the importance of our continued commitment to promoting a world of equity and opportunity for all, and is predicated on the value of bringing together diverse perspectives and experiences in an effort to build strong human connectivity and spur collective action.
Need technical assistance during the conference? Please email our support staff at helpdesk@tash.org.
Students with extensive support needs (ESN) must have access to the general education curriculum (IDEA). Many school districts have adopted published curricula that market themselves as aligned to state standards but developed for this population. An alignment study was completed to determine the degree of alignment between three of these boxed curricula and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS).
Professor, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Diane's work focuses on two areas. First, at UNCG she focuses on teacher and doctoral level preparation, with a focus on collaborative teams meeting the complex needs of students with significant intellectual and other disabilities through the use of evidence-based practices in inclusive... Read More →
This presentation will share a study focused on 15 pairs of children with extensive support needs, matched across 12 characteristics based on their first complete Individual Education Program (IEP) in the school district. One child in each pair was included in general education for 80% or more of their day from their first IEP to the most current IEP at the time of the study. The other child in the pair was placed in a separate special education class, and was served there from the first IEP to the last IEP. All children were observed over a typical school day with data collected on the types of activities, the contexts, and the types of engagement that occurred. In addition, outcome data from the first IEP to the most current IEP in the district was analyzed across three variables: communication levels, literacy levels, and numeracy levels. Results/outcomes will be shared and implications related to placement, disability characteristics, progress, and policy will be discussed.
Building equitable schools based on inclusive practices is a multi-leveled process that requires strong leadership. This session shares how a state team with district and school level leaders have made extensive progress toward meeting the needs of students on alternate assessments in general education classes through sustainable systemic change efforts supported by external coaches. This session is useful for district and school administrators/leaders who seek to develop and sustain inclusive and equitable practices for all students, but especially for students who historically have been marginalized. Such is the case for students who are on alternate assessments. This session will provide information that will assist district and school administrators/leaders in addressing implicit and explicit biases that result in continued segregation of students with severe disabilities.
Professor, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Diane's work focuses on two areas. First, at UNCG she focuses on teacher and doctoral level preparation, with a focus on collaborative teams meeting the complex needs of students with significant intellectual and other disabilities through the use of evidence-based practices in inclusive... Read More →
After 42 years in education, Mark retired three years ago. His work was not done, as he now works part time as an equity coach in a school district that is relatively new to inclusive practices. Mark has a background in speech/language pathology and assistive technology. He worked... Read More →
The concept of teacher agency can serve as an important lens through which to understand teachers' everyday practices. It acknowledges both individual teachers' efforts in providing better inclusive education services and contextual factors' vital role in shaping such work. This preliminary study explores what personal and contextual factors affect teacher agency for teaching students with disabilities in an inclusive environment and how inclusion and justice-oriented special educators make sense of their professional agency. Preliminary analysis of the interview data from four special educators indicated that navigating the mismatch between the professional identity and school contexts, engaging in collegial collaboration, seeking principal support, and being in a leadership position were perceived as the major enabling and/or constraining factors. Furthermore, special educator's sense-making of agency demonstrated the multifaced, relational, and temporal nature of teacher agency.
Grade-level standards-based instruction for all students has long been required, yet some schools and individuals struggle with how to implement it. Issues of personnel time and expertise have been identified as barriers. We will demonstrate how these schools have reconsidered the roles and responsibilities of collaborative teams to build accessible instruction. Through support of coaches and state and district level vision, the work showcased here provides practical examples of role structures and grade-level aligned content adapted for students with significant cognitive disabilities.
After 42 years in education, Mark retired three years ago. His work was not done, as he now works part time as an equity coach in a school district that is relatively new to inclusive practices. Mark has a background in speech/language pathology and assistive technology. He worked... Read More →
Thursday December 3, 2020 5:15pm - 5:30pm EST
Virtual PlatformOnline
We describe a professional development and coaching package that supporting general and special educators to implement inclusive small group literacy instruction. In this multiple baseline across skills study, three teachers received professional development and ongoing performance feedback to integrate a multicomponent shared reading intervention into small group literacy center rotations that included one student with extensive support needs (ESN) in general education classrooms. All teachers implemented engagement strategies, systematic instruction, and accurate data collection on student responses with high fidelity the following professional development package. There was no negative impact on student comprehension and teachers reported the lessons were meaningful to all students. Attendees leave with examples accessible books, professional development materials, and coaching strategies they can implement in their practice. Implications for practice and research are shared.
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 →
Thursday December 3, 2020 5:15pm - 5:30pm EST
Virtual PlatformOnline
Attendees will 'feel the power of inclusion' through this description of an effective inclusive literacy instructional strategy and suggestions for application in the field. Modified books are frequently used as literacy supports for students with extensive support needs (ESN), despite limited evaluations of their effectiveness. The efficacy of book modifications to support comprehension during non-fiction shared reading in general education classrooms was evaluated in this single case design. Student comprehension was higher after reading modified grade level, non-fiction books compared to similarly matched non-modified books. These findings support existing research showing students with ESN can access grade-level books in general education settings with appropriate adaptations, rather than relying on special education curricula for literacy instruction. Implications for practice are provided with examples of materials and planning strategies to support implementation.
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 5, 2020 2:30pm - 3:15pm EST
Virtual PlatformOnline
This phenomenological study investigated the multi-year experience of one school district in a southern state as they facilitated the development of inclusive education services for students with significant disabilities. The researchers interviewed personnel in one county-wide school district to study how they approached achieving systemic, sustainable change in their education services, and the outcomes of their work. Information was gathered through the use of open-ended interview questions, historic documents, and data on student placement, services and outcomes. Information across these sources was analyzed for emerging themes. Insight was gained regarding their experiences, expertise required, any practices/tools/instruments/resources they used, and overall reflections on their process and outcomes.
Professor, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Diane's work focuses on two areas. First, at UNCG she focuses on teacher and doctoral level preparation, with a focus on collaborative teams meeting the complex needs of students with significant intellectual and other disabilities through the use of evidence-based practices in inclusive... Read More →
Many believe that special education placement decisions made for students with extensive support needs (ESN) are based on the learning needs of each individual student and their 'readiness' for general education contexts; however, placement data suggest these decisions are based on factors other than individualization (e.g., disability label, communication style, geographic location, race). This presentation will: a) describe how patterns in our educational institutions influence the beliefs education team members hold about students with ESN and their educational services, which impact their decisions about placement; b) explain why these beliefs and decisions perpetuate the segregation of students with ESN, even after years of research on students with ESN making more progress in inclusive general education classes; and c) discuss practical ways that team members can disrupt this reinforcing systemic pattern of segregation at the classroom, school, district, and state levels.
Professor, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
Diane's work focuses on two areas. First, at UNCG she focuses on teacher and doctoral level preparation, with a focus on collaborative teams meeting the complex needs of students with significant intellectual and other disabilities through the use of evidence-based practices in inclusive... Read More →
Students with extensive support needs (ESN) are often educated away from their peers (Morningstar, Kurth, & Johnson, 2017) and persistently lack access to comprehensive literacy instruction (Toews & Kurth, 2019). This study examined the effects of an online shared reading professional development (PD) session on the self-efficacy of teachers of students with ESN regarding instructional planning. Special and general educators were taught the "BETCHA" strategy as a way to plan for students with ESN to participate in general education classes and curriculum using shared reading. Findings indicate that participants were able to design instructional plans for their students and had higher self-efficacy after participating in the online PD session. Understanding how teachers' participation in an online PD session affects their self-efficacy in planning instruction may contribute to discussions about how students with ESN may better be included with their typically developing peers.
I'm an Associate Professor of Special Education at University of Wisconsin-Madison. I study educational decision making for students with extensive support needs.
Monday December 7, 2020 1:30pm - 2:15pm EST
Virtual PlatformOnline
The recording for this session is located under the title, "About TASH Talks (Part II). NOTE: TASH Talks are a take off the popular “Ted Talks” - short 8- to 10-minute presentations on critically important topics facing the disability rights movement followed by a brief Q & A session during the one-hour session.
This presentation uses Cultural Historical Activity Theory (CHAT) to discuss the socialization experiences of one middle school special education teacher, whose focus was on inclusive education for students with disabilities within her school. In the midst of advocating for inclusive education and supporting students in a variety of school settings, a context of racism was apparent and troubling to the work of inclusive education. Three themes will be discussed: teacher socialization, responding to racism, and schools as political. Finally, a new vision of the work of secondary special education teachers emerges as existing activity systems are reconceptualized as sites of opportunity to disrupt exclusion and oppression in schools.
Friendships are valuable social relationships that result in personal benefit and also provide a vehicle for developmental gains. Families and educators value the development of friendships between students with and without severe disabilities in and out of school. Yet, friendships between students with and without severe disabilities remain infrequent. Interventions to promote friendship typically focus on the social and behavioral skills of students with disabilities, but friendships involve two (or more) people interacting in specific contexts. Thus, we conducted structured observations of classroom interactions using an interval recording protocol for a student with severe disabilities and a peer comparison student without disabilities in four inclusive early elementary classrooms. Findings indicate that inclusion alone may not be sufficient to promote social interactions and friendships with peers. We highlight specific interventions and implications for practice.
Zach Rossetti, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Special Education in the Teaching and Learning Department at Boston University's Wheelock College of Education & Human Development. His research examines the social belonging and participation of people with intellectual and developmental... Read More →
I am interested in supporting self-advocacy and self-determination, understanding the experiences of LGBTQ+ people with intellectual and/or developmental disabilities, and promoting access to sexuality education.
Wednesday December 9, 2020 12:30pm - 1:15pm EST
Virtual PlatformOnline
