2019 TASH Conference

For decades, we have valued the role of employment in transforming the lives of persons with intellectual and developmental disabilities. The passage of civil rights legislation has ensured the protection of rights, and more and more people are enjoying full, meaningful lives in the community. At the same time, we have struggled to provide culturally relevant services - services that effectively bridge the gap between the intersectionality of employment, diversity, equity, race, and disability. Join us in this conversation as we explore this critical path before us in the field of supported employment. We will reflect on our collective values around equity, race, and culture and challenge the status quo; we believe this conversation is the key to Employment for All.

Research shows that early intervention (EI) and preschool special education services (from birth -5) (here referred to as ECSE) have a positive impact on children's progress as well as on empowering parents to advocate for their children. However, accessing ECSE services can be complicated by the need for collaborations between the many stakeholders involved in the referral and service provision process. Parents and guardians, medical clinicians, childcare providers and preschool teachers from one large, racially, culturally and economically diverse urban area were interviewed to understand the process of referral to and service delivery from ECSE. The perspectives of multiple stakeholders highlights the challenges of communicating concerns about development, ensuring that that the referral is made, accessing specialists, and closing the communication loop for parents, child care providers, physicians and special education service providers once services start. Suggestions on how to address these challenges and ensure that young children with disabilities and their families from a broad range of racial, cultural and economic groups are able to fully access the resources available to them.

Students navigate transition upon entering college, through their academics, and when planning for employment. While transition planning is not formally defined in IDEA, it is important that students are involved in the process to encourage their involvement and confidence in implementing their goals. Members of the leadership team at Syracuse University's InclusiveU will detail what they have found successful on their campus. We recognize the diversity of goals, abilities, and resources for each student and institution of higher education. This variance makes implementing a one-size-fits-all practice difficult. Participants will collaborate with other attendees to discuss the major transitions students face, the problems students face in the midst of each transition, and solutions they have found effective to overcoming challenges. This session intends to challenge attendees to think innovatively when approaching transition planning through all phases of the college experience.

A focused case study on the practices, strategies, and trends regarding the access to inclusive educational settings for students with disabilities in Catholic schools (Stodden et. al, 2001). The information collected will be analyzed for trends, similarities, and differences with the intent that other Catholic school districts will review this case study and utilize its information to develop a successful inclusive educational program within their own schools per the standards set via the Individuals with Disabilities Act (IDEA, 2018).

Early childhood special educators work with diverse families. The skills to implement family-centered practices, build on family capacity, and collaborate with families across systems is critical for positive child and family outcomes. One way to increase and support a diverse early childhood workforce is to address barriers in higher education.

Creators and facilitators for the AZ TASH YOUth strand will present and answer questions about their process in developing and running this exciting and vital component of their INclusive Practices Institute. The YOUth strand has been a part of the institute for 8 years and continues to provide an amazing inclusive experience for middle and high schoolers around the state. The strand provides a full day dive into ableism, privilege, intersectionality, challenging social constructs, leadership and advocacy. At the end of the institute, YOUth share out their learnings with all of the adults. Many adults have commented on institute evaluations that this is a highlight of the institute.

The United States (US) is a diverse country, becoming increasingly diverse over time. As members of culturally diverse communities and all communities, people with disabilities must be able to choose the communities to which they belong and to be truly a part of those communities. This requires that we begin by listening to people with disabilities and understanding what they want for their lives. Many people with disabilities rely on formal supports systems that have been changing over the past 30 years. Systems which historically offered narrowly defined supports had the deleterious effect of pulling people from their communities and cultural traditions. These systems have seen an emerging shift to embrace person-centered principles. This change is premised on the belief that people should have the authority to define and pursue their own vision of a good life. Just as the US is diverse, the approaches that states, tribes, and territories take to adopt person-centered practices in disability systems vary. Although person-centered supports are generally accepted as best practice, their full realization has been hard to achieve despite decades of work by stakeholders; evidence supporting person-centered practices; guidance from federal agencies; and legislation. Recently the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services, however, issued regulations requiring person-centered planning and have identified person-centered planning as being an essential element of high-quality long-term services and supports program. As support systems work towards the full implementation of person-centered planning, they must be careful to respect cultural and linguistic needs so that a common definition of person-centeredness can be espoused. This definition, as well as the resulting formal planning practices, must dignify people s lived experiences within their communities and not impose any undue barriers on any group of people seeking supports. The National Center on Advancing Person Centered Practices and Systems (NCAPPS) is assisting states, tribes, and territories to transform their support systems and implement policy on person-centered thinking, planning, and practices. The center is seeking to do this in a way that recognizes the unique lens that people from a variety of cultural backgrounds bring to the picture. To this end, NCAPPS is working with a broad range of national partners as well as advocates with disabilities or other lived experiences. This presentation will involve an interactive discussion about the work of NCAPPS and the goals of responsibly promoting policies and practices that represent diverse needs and interests, some that may seem at odds with others. The NCAPPS team will present an overview current practice and key themes of NCAPPS work with states, describe the role of people with lived experience in the process, provide an overview of stakeholder engagement activities, and discuss how these various activities are guiding the Centers activities. The session will conclude with a facilitated discussion about how NCAPPS can better promote cultural and linguistic diversity through its work and navigate conflicts and barriers related to respecting diversity.