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.
This presentation explores how Assistive Technology (AT) supports students with disabilities as they transition from high school to postsecondary education, employment, and independent living. Blending professional AT expertise with real student examples, the session highlights how accessible materials, coordinated support teams, and individualized AT decisions shape successful transitions. Participants will learn how AT needs shift across environments and how to strengthen student voice and self‑advocacy. The session reviews legal foundations for AT in transition services and offers strategies for embedding AT into IEP transition plans. Frameworks such as the SETT Framework and QIAT Indicators guide teams in evaluating AT and selecting tools for communication, mobility, computer access, organization, and ADLs to support readiness for adulthood.
Learning Outcomes
- Explain the role of AT within transition planning and how it aligns with legal requirements and IEP development.
- Use the SETT Framework and QIAT Indicators to guide AT selection that supports postsecondary, employment, and independent living goals.
- Identify AT tools and strategies that build student readiness, self advocacy, and independence during the transition to adulthood.
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
For many students, generative AI chatbots have become a regular part of school life, whether as learning supports or always-on homework helpers. While educators likely understand the potential for “chatbot cheating”, these tools can also pose less obvious risks for young learners, including:
- Attention drains from endless chatbot conversations
- Oversharing personal information (which chatbots store in memory)
- Influence by chatbot’s authoritative “voice”, even when it shares misinformation or bias
- Humanlike empathy (“That’s a great idea!”) that encourages interaction like a trusted friend.
AT consultant Shelley Haven will demonstrate chatbot features, settings, and practices that can help educators reduce these risks while supporting more effective student use.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify key safety and trust-related risks students may face when using generative AI chatbots
- Run a “safety audit” of chatbot settings and create guardrails for student use
- Teach students how to improve their fact-checking and sourcing habits
All Students Deserve to Play, Every Ability Included!
Imagine the exhilaration of scoring a goal, the joy of collaborating with teammates, the pure fun of simply being active. Unfortunately, not all students get to experience the magic of play due to complex support needs. This workshop aims to change that.
We believe that every student, regardless of ability, deserves the right to play. This interactive session will empower you to adapt games and sports, integrate assistive technology, and create inclusive environments where everyone can participate and have FUN! Join us to discover practical strategies, innovative tools, and real-world examples that will transform play into an opportunity for connection, learning, and joy for all students.
Learning Outcomes
- Understand the benefits of assistive technology in physical education.
- Evaluate and select assistive technology solutions for adapted games and sports
- Discover and implement Do-It-Yourself (DIY) adaptations for games and sports
This interactive session presents a cross-institutional Arizona faculty book study designed to move teacher educators from awareness of High Leverage Practices (HLPs) to systematic implementation. Participants will examine pre-post data, growth patterns, and practitioner tools, and engage in structured dialogue to apply the model within their own institutional contexts.
Learning Outcomes
- Analyze pre–post data illustrating faculty growth in HLP implementation.
- Differentiate between awareness-level understanding and implementation-level integration.
- Identify structural elements necessary for faculty professional learning grounded in implementation science.
- Develop at least one actionable strategy for embedding HLPs within their institutional context. Engage in cross-institution dialogue to strengthen inclusive teacher preparation statewide.
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
Join this interactive session led by an AT specialist, an AT user, and an accessibility and content editor. Through the AT user’s lived experience, from high school to university and into the workplace, we will explore common barriers that impact learning, access, and independence. The session will highlight how inaccessible materials create real‑world challenges and limit full participation. After identifying each barrier, our accessibility editor will demonstrate practical, step‑by‑step techniques for remediating documents and improving clarity. Participants will leave with actionable strategies to design content that is accessible, inclusive, and easier for all learners to use.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify common accessibility barriers in learning materials and understand their impact on learners’ independence, engagement, and success.
- Analyze real‑world experiences of an AT user to recognize how inaccessible design affects educational and professional pathways.
- Apply practical document‑remediation techniques to create clearer, more accessible, and more inclusive content for diverse learners.
Even though Artificial Intelligence (AI) is reshaping education at every level, students with disabilities remain an afterthought in most implementation conversations. This session bridges Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and emerging AI tools to help educators, disability service professionals, and administrators critically evaluate, adopt, and implement AI tools in their learning environments. Participants will explore how AI can expand access and reduce barriers for students with disabilities and explore how it can quietly create new ones when implemented without an equity lens. This session draws on research in inclusive education, disability studies, and emerging AI literature to move beyond surface-level AI enthusiasm and offer an honest look at what these tools mean for students with disabilities. Grounded in UDL, participants will gain a practical, student-centered.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify ways AI tools can either expand or limit access for students with disabilities when evaluated through a UDL framework across educational settings.
- Examine current or planned AI tools and policies in their own educational context to determine whether they are proactively designed to include students with disabilities or require modification to meet equity and access standards.
- Develop a practical action step for implementing or revising an AI-related practice, policy, or learning experience in their setting that centers student voice, reduces barriers, and aligns with UDL principles.
Universal Design for Learning’s (UDL) principle of designing multiple means of engagement offers educators practical ways to foster motivation, relevance, and persistence among students. This session highlights strategies that help students connect emotionally and intellectually with learning by offering choices, building relevance, encouraging collaboration, and supporting self-regulation. Research shows UDL improves student engagement and academic success by proactively addressing learner variability and reducing barriers that can limit participation. Examples from elementary, middle, and high school classrooms will illustrate how designing for engagement supports a diverse student body. Participants will have an opportunity to explore with other participants how to apply the principle of engagement in their own setting during this hands-on session.
Learning Outcomes
- Participants will be able to apply UDL-aligned strategies to increase learner autonomy, demonstrate relevance, and support persistence within an inclusive learning environment.
- Participants will be able to evaluate engagement strategies and make recommendations for enhancing engagement given commonly witnessed barriers to engagement.
