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
Supported decision-making passed into law in 2023 as an alternative to guardianship. Many individuals have likely heard of SDM and are interested in taking the next steps but may not know where to start. This presentation will explore various assistive technologies (AT) that can help self-advocates and their supporters in healthcare, finances, and other areas in a person’s life.
Learning Outcomes
- Participants will survey available assistive technology to help facilitate supported decision-making in different areas (healthcare, legal, financial)
- Participants will see real-world applications of how emerging technologies can promote community integration and independence
- Participants will get a refresher on how Supported Decision-Making
Individuals with disabilities struggle with the thought of returning to work and/or further education. There are numerous work incentives that can assist individuals achieve financial wellness and independent living. As well, many do not realize that health benefits do not end; actually, they just shift. This presentation breaks the barriers to employment by discussing the untapped resources that can support your decision to take that first step. It will include much needed information regarding, Pre-employment Transition Services, post-secondary education, employment, Social Security rules, benefits, and healthcare. We will provide information on how you can gain free access a Community Work Incentives Coordinator that will work with you one-on one to ensure that you are taking advantage of all the resources that are available.
Learning Outcomes
- Learn about post-secondary funding sources to help you further your education as well as, Pre-employment Transition Services, career exploration, and job readiness services that help students with disabilities prepare for future employment.
- Learn about work incentives and safety nets used when considering employment without losing one’s healthcare benefits.
- Learn about savings programs that will allow one to save earned income and not count as resources against one’s Social Security cash benefits while working.
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.
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
Launching into Work is an evidence-informed occupational therapy framework designed to prepare adolescents and young adults with disabilities for competitive integrated employment. The session integrates research-identified predictors of employment success, including paid work experience, vocational preparation, self-determination, and workplace communication skills. Participants will explore how to apply predictor-based strategies and occupation-centered practices to improve employment readiness and long-term job sustainability. Practical tools, real case examples, and actionable planning steps will be provided to support implementation across education, VR, and community settings.
Learning Outcomes
- Participants will be able to identify evidence-based predictors of employment success (e.g., paid work experience, self-determination, vocational preparation) and explain how each informs intervention design.
- Participants will learn how to implement occupation-based strategies that strengthen job readiness including communication, workplace planning, and self-advocacy skills.
- Participants will gain practical tools to translate predictor research into transition plans and employment supports across education, VR, and community settings.
Community-Based Instruction (CBI) provides powerful opportunities for students with diverse learning needs to apply academic and functional skills in real-world contexts. This will guide educators through practical strategies for integrating CBI into middle school special education classrooms. Participants will explore the benefits of CBI and how it supports transition; identify common barriers and practical solutions; and develop a lesson plan that aligns a CBI activity with ELA and Math standards and transition goals. Through hands-on examples and collaborative discussion, attendees will learn how to design meaningful CBI experiences that foster student engagement, independence, and success beyond the classroom.
Learning Outcomes
- Participants will be able to discuss the benefits of CBI and how it supports transition.
- Participants will be able to identify common barriers to implementing CBI and practical solutions to overcome them.
- Participants will understand how to align CBI activities with English Language Arts (ELA) and math standards, as well as transition goals.
- Using information from the session, each participant will develop a CBI lesson plan addressing math, ELA, and/or transition goals to implement in their classroom
This session explores how evidence-based predictors of post-school success can be used to design transition practices that center youth voice, family engagement, and pathways to competitive integrated employment. Grounded in national research and real-world implementation, the presentation highlights key predictors such as student-focused planning, work-based learning, family involvement, and interagency collaboration across education, vocational rehabilitation, and community systems. Participants will examine how strong partnerships move research into practice and how intentional alignment of services leads to improved employment and community outcomes. Designed for educators, VR professionals, administrators, and state and local partners, this session offers practical strategies for turning evidence into action and strengthening transition services that lead to meaningful life after high school.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify key evidence-based predictors of post-school success and explain how these predictors support improved employment and community outcomes for youth with disabilities.
- Apply practical strategies for centering youth voice, family engagement, and interagency collaboration within transition planning across education, vocational rehabilitation, and community systems.
The Arizona Department of Education (ADE) and Vocational Rehabilitation (VR) have built an innovative, statewide partnership to strengthen the school‑to‑work transition for students with disabilities. Through coordinated Pre‑Employment Transition Services (Pre‑ETS), formal interagency agreements, and aligned technical assistance for educators, these systems create seamless and equitable pathways to employment. This session will highlight practical strategies that empower schools, enhance transition planning, and elevate post-school outcomes across Arizona.
Learning Outcomes
- Identify evidence‑based components of quality transition services that improve post‑school outcomes.
- Analyze how VR Pre‑ETS and school-based transition planning jointly support access to competitive integrated employment (CIE).
- Apply strategies that increase student participation in work-based learning and employment pathways.
