Want to present at the 2011 TASH Conference in Atlanta? You can, but the deadline is fast approaching. Make sure you submit your proposal by 5 p.m. ET Friday, May 6 Tuesday, May 31.
The following perspective comes from a longtime TASH member, John Butterworth, who reflected on his experience with TASH over the years. We thank John for sending over this powerful testimony from a presenter’s view. After you read John’s post below, see what another presenter, Toby Bazan, a self-advocate from Canyon Country, Calif., had to say about presenting during the 2010 TASH Conference in Denver.
I have been a TASH member since 1979 and over the years I have been involved in TASH Conference sessions on person centered planning, natural supports in the workplace, social security work incentives, transition, organizational change, and most recently, state level systems change and policy. TASH integrates research and practice in a way that is unique, and participants of the TASH Conference are ready to immediately translate knowledge to supports, advocacy and policy. This reflects a key strength of the conference – the chance to talk with people who get and seek the implementation opportunity from everything they attend. Equally energizing is the tendency of TASH members to question and engage in sessions.
Over the years TASH continues to be my most important organizational affiliation, in part because it offers a whole life perspective that crosses ages, personal roles, and perspectives. It gives a parent of a younger child, a teacher, or an advocate the chance to drop in on an employment session even if employment isn’t their primary purpose in attending. Why should you submit a session proposal? Because TASH attracts people who are committed to change, and who will challenge your thinking. And because your session will be part of a whole that collectively describes life the way it should be.
John Butterworth, Ph.D.
Coordinator of Employment Systems Change and Evaluation
Institute on Community Inclusion
UMass Boston
www.communityinclusion.org
Find additional information about the Call for Proposals, or link directly to the submission site
Proposals are due by May 6 May 31, 2011, at 5 p.m. ET
Contact (202) 540-9015 or conference@tash.org with questions