Welcome to the 2021 TASH Conference - Virtual Edition website!
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 and spurs our creative thinking into action! Our Conference theme, Celebrating Community and Connections, reminds us of the value of gathering together as a diverse community to advance equity, opportunity and inclusion for all!
Need technical assistance during the conference? Please email our support staff at helpdesk@tash.org.
The 2021 TASH Conference is dedicated to TASH co-founder, Dr. Lou Brown. Learn more about Lou’s impact and legacy to the disability rights movement here.
Participating in community activities contributes to a sense of belonging and enhances self-esteem. People with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) have different interests and need different levels of support to explore those interests. Though support needs may differ, there should be no difference in who has a right to be part of the community. All people should have access to their communities and to participate fully. The Americans with Disabilities Act is a civil rights law that that ensures that people with disabilities have equal access to civic life, and to live as full a life as their peers without disabilities. 83% of respondents to the National Core Indicators® Adult Family Survey, said their family member with IDD living in the home takes part in activities in the community. This presentation will review NCI AFS data to determine whether communication style, behavioral support need, and race constraints their family member’s access the community.
