After attending the conference for the first day, I was impressed by the variety and depth of topics included. I enjoyed listening to the keynote speaker discuss The prevalence of Autism and potential research for the future. I also attended a discussion on a challenging behavior which discussed recent research on PBS and ABA implementation for people with intellectual disabilities in the daycare setting specifically. I also enjoyed talking with Project Ability about their art workshops and outreach programs offered to people with disabilities as a way to participate in and sell their art work, while also earning 60% of the profits.
However, throughout my experience I was surprised by the lack of alternative communication provided. I was hoping that the presentations would have sign language interpreters or subtitles offered for people attending that might have hearing impairments. This specifically surprised me because I know there are many people attending, presenting, and working at IASSIDD who have different disabilities. I will be interested to see if there are more adaptive options throughout the conference and if any form of alternative communication is used!
I loved the Project Ability table, it is a great organization and it gives the individuals a chance to do what they love while making a profit. To be honest I didn’t think much of them not having subtitles or someone doing sign language but after reading your post it doesn’t make sense as to why they do not have those things. That was a really great observation and hopefully that can be addressed for the next conference.
I have been so impressed with the sheet amount and variety, as well as in-depth explanation of so many topics related to disability as well. While it’s overwhelming, it is incredible to see so many professionals that all focus on vastly different aspects of disability- which is so great for the community! However, I also noticed a lack of different accessibility options at the actual conference itself- which is sad to see. I definitely expected subtitles, if not someone translating in ASL, as well as more resources for other types of disabilities. This also led to me looking around and realizing there were less people there with disabilities than I thought there might be originally. While it is an academic conference, I would love to see more self-advocates attend. I think that IASSIDD should really make an effort to market to those groups more! I mentioned this is another comment, but I find that the bathrooms are very accessible and inclusive, but some things are quite lacking.