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.
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
People who have complex communication issues and use AAC devices and/or apps to speak on a regular basis, in a variety of settings are easily overlooked and dismissed as not having valuable knowledge or insight to contribute in social, political, professional, or spiritual conversations. This is largely because other people don’t know how to embrace the awkward pauses and sounds necessary for allowing people with disabilities to fully express themselves. This means that as people with disabilities that include speech disorders, we have to work extra hard to get the attention of non disabled people, and even those who have disabilities, but typical speech patterns. I will share personal experiences and tips for how to “embrace the awkward” and make more meaningful communication connections.
Learning Outcomes
- Audience members will understand the importance of not making assumptions about people’s capabilities based on their appearance or speech.
- Participants will gain practical tips for navigating communication barriers while learning to “embrace the awkward.”
- Participants will learn the importance of recognizing a person’s gifts, skills, and talents no matter what their limitations may be.
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
Artificial Intelligence (AI) is constantly evolving technology, which is commonly used in the workplace. Employers utilize AI for a growing number of functions. Employees with disabilities can utilize AI as a reasonable accommodation to assist in completing required job tasks. However, inaccessible AI programs can also pose barriers for employees with disabilities.
This session will provide information about some of the uses of AI to assist employees with disabilities in the workplace, and barriers that AI may pose to applicants and employees with disabilities. This session will also provide information about the rights of employees with disabilities under the Americans with Disabilities Act to request and receive reasonable accommodations in the workplace. Additionally, this session will explore some recent developments around AI in the workplace.
Learning Outcomes
- The various forms of AI that are used by employers and employees in the workplace, and potential barriers posed by AI to employees with disabilities.
- The rights of employees with disabilities to request and receive reasonable accommodations, and some examples of AI as a reasonable accommodation.
- How AI can be used to assist people with disabilities to prepare for employment.
- Recent developments within the past year of AI in the workplace.
“Hi, my name is Heather and I’m an assistive technology abandoner.” “Hi, Heather.” We will have a sit-down conversation/interview about what technology Heather has used, when she used it, and why she abandoned it. Many of our clients trust our knowledge when picking out technology, but we can still get it wrong. Heather is an author and internationally awarded photographer, was an ATP, holds an MS CS and MS RST, and was diagnosed with LGMD over 20 years ago. She is highly educated in the area of AT, she made knowledgeable choices for what she thought she needed, but tossed them away when they didn’t make the cut. This interview will enlighten the audience as to why so much tech is abandoned.
Learning Outcomes
- Participants will be able to identify 4 pieces of AT used during the progression of a neuromuscular disorder.
- Participants will be able to identify 3 reasons why AT might be abandoned.
- Participants will be able to describe obstacles that may arise through the advancement of a condition and the psychological implications thereof.
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.
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
