This year’s theme, “Celebrating 40 Years of Progressive Leadership,” acknowledges TASH’s 40 years of generating change within the disability community and anticipates a brighter, more inclusive future for people with disabilities in all aspects of life. Each year, the TASH Conference impacts the disability field by connecting attendees to innovative information and resources, facilitating connections between stakeholders within the disability movement, and helping attendees reignite their passion for an inclusive world.
We encourage you to explore this website, connect with other attendees, and build your personalized schedule. You can also download the mobile app version of the website by visiting the App Store and Google Play and searching for "TASH 2015".
This presentation includes findings from interviews with 29 special education advocates--many of whom are also parents of children with disabilities. Indeed, over the past 40 years, advocacy has caused many of the systemic changes to the special education system. From interviews with advocates, we can discern how they advocate for families of children with disabilities and, subsequently, better measure the impact of advocacy upon family and child outcomes. OBJECTIVES: 1. Participants will be able to identify seven types of special education advocacy 2. Participants will be able to discuss the implications of special education advocacy for individuals with disabilities and their families 3. Participants will understand the diverse experiences of special education advocates 4. Participants will understand the history of special education advocacy IMPORTANCE: Although 70% of parents report needing advocacy skills to ensure that their children retain appropriate services, most parents report not understanding their rights (Public Agenda, 2002). Because parents struggle to advocate, many parents turn to special education advocates. However, little research has documented how advocates work with parents. TRANSLATING TOPIC INTO POSITIVE OUTCOMES: The information from this presentation will demonstrate the methods of advocacy. To date, no research has documented objective and measurable ways in which special education advocates work with families. By identifying measurable advocacy practices, we can better measure advocacy and we can link various advocacy activities to student outcomes and teacher practices. By identifying effective advocacy strategies, we can teach families, individuals with severe disabilities, and service providers/educators effective advocacy strategies so all students with severe disabilities can retain effective services.
