This presentation provides professionals with a practical overview of smart devices that support accessibility, safety, and independence for people with disabilities across the lifespan. Participants are introduced to key categories of smart home technologies, assistive devices for daily living, and mobile apps and wearables commonly used in residential settings. The session emphasizes person-centered device selection, implementation considerations such as privacy, training, and ongoing support, and real-world applications through examples and discussion. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies for matching smart devices to individual client needs and with reliable resources to support client and caregiver education and successful long-term use.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify and describe at least three categories of smart devices commonly used to support independence and accessibility
- Explain at least three key considerations involved in implementing smart devices in a client’s home.
- Identify at least three reliable resources for client and caregiver education, training, and ongoing technical support.
The presentation features Bradford Smith, a person living with ALS, sharing his personal experience with Neuralink’s brain-computer interface technology. He describes how the tiny implant reads brain electrical signals and translates them into actionable commands, enabling greater independence and communication despite severe motor limitations. He’ll highlight the transformative potential of this neurotechnology for individuals with paralysis and neurodegenerative conditions. Presentation will be with assistive technology using presenters voice recreated through AI.
Learning Outcomes
- Understanding the Impact on Independence and Quality of Life with BCI
- Insights into Practical Functionality and Applications of BCI Technology
- Knowledge of Technical Challenges, Risks, and Mitigations
Working memory is the brain’s mental workbench, the space where we hold and manipulate information long enough to make sense of it and act on it. It’s also a critical part of executive functioning with an integral role in many academic and work tasks: reading comprehension, writing composition, math problem solving, taking notes, following directions, managing tasks, and building mental concepts. When working memory is overwhelmed, students and employees may struggle.
Using examples from various academic and workplace settings, AT consultant Shelley Haven will demonstrate pairing working memory compensation strategies with specific technology features to help externalize (offload) information with digital tools, categorize it into meaningful chunks, and organize it for more effective use, long-term retention, and recall.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify common working memory obstacles that affect academic and work tasks like reading, writing, math, note-taking, planning, problem-solving, and retention
- Explain how externalizing, categorizing, and organizing information helps to reduce working memory demands
- Select at least three AT tools or features that help compensate for working memory challenges and explain how they can assist learning and work-related tasks
In this presentation, discover how WorkAbility—an employment services program of UCP of Southern Arizona—is transforming employment opportunities for people with disabilities across Pima, Santa Cruz, and Yuma counties. This dynamic session highlights our journey in implementing Employment First practices, the integration of customized employment throughout all our services, and effective strategies for addressing systemic barriers through advocacy and self determination. You’ll also hear how our partnership with Diverse Ability Incorporated, a youth serving organization, is strengthening employment and other outcomes, to elevate youth voice, leadership, and advocacy efforts through a peer-to-peer service methodology rooted in independent living philosophy. Gain practical tools and fresh insights that will enhance employment services and empower the individuals you support.
Learning Outcomes
- Describe the core components of WorkAbility’s provider transformation and how Employment First practices are being implemented to expand employment opportunities for people with disabilities across multiple counties.
- Explain how customized employment is integrated across WorkAbility’s services and identify strategies that support individualized, meaningful employment outcomes.
- Identify common systemic barriers to employment and apply advocacy and self determination approaches that help address and reduce these barriers.
- Analyze the role of community partnerships, including WorkAbility’s collaboration with Diverse Ability Incorporated, in strengthening transition and employment outcomes, and enhancing community advocacy efforts.
This interactive workshop will outline the importance of accessing assistive technology in party planning for all individuals and demonstrate techniques for putting this into practice. Presenters will demonstrate the effectiveness of assistive technology used for choice-making, party planning, and adapted-play and provide specific examples. All examples will have tangible goals and feature students with complex needs, including physical/motor impairments, intellectual disabilities, and cortical visual impairment, demonstrating their successful use of assistive technology. Presenters will identify ways to implement these strategies within the school, home, and community settings. Participants will participate in hands-on party planning and leave with a virtual goody bag!
Learning Outcomes
- Identify the need for adaptations and accessibility for individuals with complex needs to participate in party planning/participation, leisure activities, and playful explorations.
- Describe the multiple uses of assistive technology within party planning/participation, leisure activities, and playful explorations.
- Design and adapt party games/activities and create accessible playful party explorations using materials and equipment provided.
Sustaining collective impact requires strong, intentional collaboration across organizations. This session highlights the partnership between Encircle Families—the Parent Training and Information Center for Arizona—and Diverse Ability Incorporated, a peer‑to‑peer youth‑serving organization. We will outline how our disability serving organizations coordinate effectively to support families through shared initiatives, including a new Family Transition Navigation Pilot Project.
With support from interagency partners statewide, we will demonstrate how leveraging complementary strengths improves service consistency, reduces duplication, and strengthens community capacity. Participants will examine key principles of effective collaboration, strategies for building cross‑agency partnerships, and practical examples of how coordinated efforts lead to clear roles, shared goals, and stronger long‑term outcomes for families.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify and apply complementary strengths across partner organizations to reduce duplication, address service gaps, and build collective capacity.
- Use alignment strategies—such as shared goals, defined roles, and accountability structures—to enhance collaboration and maximize impact.
- Translate organizational alignment into sustainable practices that strengthen long‑term outcomes and deliver lasting benefits for families.
A lower extremity exoskeleton is a wearable robotic device that enables individuals with paraplegia, due to spinal cord injuries (SCI) or other neurological conditions, to walk. Regaining
the ability to stand, offers numerous health benefits, such as preventing or alleviating common issues associated with long-term wheelchair use, including pressure ulcers, bowel and bladder disorders, spasticity, and pain. Exoskeleton use can also improve physical endurance and mental well-being. Historically, lower extremity exoskeletons have been used primarily for walking, and primarily in rehabilitation settings, with some community use. There is little information in the literature regarding the use of exoskeletons in the user’s home, and the possibility of using the standing foundation provided by the exoskeleton to complete functional daily tasks in the home.
Learning Outcomes
- Recognize how individuals with spinal cord injuries can regain independence with functional activities in their home and communities by using a lower extremity robotic exoskeleton.
- Describe the physical and mental health benefits associated with the use of lower extremity exoskeletons for individuals with paraplegia, including improvements in cardiometabolic health, enhanced physical endurance, improved functional pain scores, improved bowel/bladder function, and other health benefits.
This interactive presentation addresses a critical gap in school emergency preparedness that has emerged since 2023.
Emergency response plans must now specifically address the recommended assistance and means of communication essential for the safety of students with access and functional/exceptional needs. Let this unprecedented opportunity serve as a call to action that will prepare Occupational Therapy Practitioners to demonstrate their value and expand their impact in school-based practice! Occupational Therapy Practitioners already possess expertise in functional assessment, individualized intervention planning, environmental adaptations, and positive behavioral trauma-informed strategies, which positions them as essential partners for developing comprehensive, compliant emergency management protocols that ensure the inclusivity and safety of all. The presentation will be interactive and provide scenarios for the group to work through.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify and reflect upon unique opportunities for occupational therapy practitioners in emergency management
- Expand knowledge of outside resources to support comprehensive implementation and knowledge translation
- Analyze the specific requirements of new laws around emergency operations plans in Arizona
