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2020 TASH Conference - Virtual Edition has ended
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.
avatar for Mahala Turner

Mahala Turner

North Carolina Down Syndrome Alliance
Family Support
Raleigh, NC
Websitencdsalliance.org
I have twelve years of experience as a special education teacher as well as a school psychometrist with a both my graduate and undergraduate degrees in special education. Currently, I am the Family Support Specialist for the North Carolina Down Syndrome Alliance (NCDSA) providing assistance to families of children with Down syndrome across the lifespan. Through my work at the NCDSA, I am the facilitator of the North Carolina First Call Program that provides support to families when they receive a diagnosis of Down syndrome. I am the facilitator of The Learning Program, a program that uses effective teaching strategies and customized materials to support families in the educational process of teaching their child reading and math. I also plan medical outreach efforts by providing accurate and balanced information to medical providers ensuring they are prepared to deliver a diagnosis of Down syndrome and the best care possible for patients with Down syndrome. I am a current Family Fellow in the UNC LEND (Leadership Education in Neurodevelopmental Disorders) program.  I am also the parent to eight year old twins and three year old Beau. Beau just happens to have Down syndrome.

My Presenters Sessions

Tuesday, December 8
 

2:30pm EST

Great Beginnings: The Power of Peer Support for Parents of Infants with Intellectual Disabilities Virtual Platform
 

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