For a second year, AHEAD is delighted to bring you three days of virtual presentations on three topics crucial to higher education disability resource professionals. Join nationally recognized experts to further your knowledge and thinking on particular topics of interest. Participate in just one day or join us for all three thought provoking days.

Day 1: Legal and policy issues

Day 2: Furthering cross-campus connections

Day 3: Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion

Each day will feature an opening plenary designed to set the stage, followed by three presentations focusing on some of the practical aspects of the topic, and end with a Q&A panel opportunity to ask the experts.

Federal workspaces must be fully accessible to employees with disabilities, as underscored by President Biden’s Executive Order to Advance Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Accessibility (DEIA) in the Federal Workforce. They must be designed and built to be accessible as required by the Architectural Barriers Act which ensures access to federally funded facilities. Digital workspaces, including information and communication technology used by federal agencies, must be accessible as well under Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. This session will review accessibility requirements for employee work areas in the ABA Accessibility Standards (ABAAS), including provisions for accessible routes, parking, entrances, workspaces, break rooms, locker rooms, and other areas. Presenters will also review requirements in the Section 508 Standards for computers, telecommunications equipment, software, websites, information kiosks and transaction machines, and electronic documents. Questions can be submitted in advance of the session or can be posed during the live webinar. This webinar will include video remote interpreting (VRI) and real-time captioning. Webinar attendees can earn continuing education credits.

Join the Miami Office of the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) on Monday, April 11th at 11:30 am, Eastern time, for the repeat session of “Employer Guidance in Our COVID-19 World.” This discussion will include information regarding the Americans with Disabilities Act, primary and secondary COVID and its short- or long-term effects, vaccines, and return-to-work guidance.

During this 60-minute session, individuals will have the opportunity to ask ADA professionals questions about Barrier Removal Requirements for Privately Owned and Operated Businesses under the ADA. To ensure your question is answered during the session, individuals are highly encouraged to submit their questions ahead of time via the registration website (option to submit questions is available once you have registered for the session).

There are many temporary events that take place every year in communities throughout the country such as street festivals, craft fairs, music events, state and county fairs, book fairs, air shows, sports tournaments, and parades. This session will focus on the application of the general non-discrimination requirements of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) to both indoor and outdoor temporary events. Strategies for insuring access for all persons will be discussed. There will be time for participants to ask questions of the speakers following the presentation.

This comprehensive online conference will explore practical approaches for supporting communication for individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) through a neurodiversity perspective. Participants will learn tools and practices to support individuals and families with community and peer engagement, self-advocacy, and transitions.

Suicide is a leading cause of premature death for autistic individuals. The autism community has identified suicide prevention as a top priority, yet there is a large evidence gap about best practices to reduce suicide risk in autistic individuals. The presenters will discuss a recently funded Patient-Centered Outcomes Research Institute (PCORI) study comparing the effectiveness of two suicide prevention interventions for autistic adolescents and young adults. The presenters will highlight the value of stakeholder engagement and describe effective practices for meaningful and authentic inclusion of autistic individuals and their family members as research partners. They will describe how autistic co-researchers have contributed to study design decisions and study team considerations in instrumental ways. Strategies that could be used by other stakeholders to promote meaningful partnership will be highlighted.

Participants can expect to: 

• Learn about what autism spectrum disorder is
• Gain an understanding about developmental milestones for children 6-18
• Develop a greater awareness of the "Red Flags for Autism"
• Better understand and access early intervention services

Professional ethics are critical for postsecondary disability services. As such, the Association on Higher Education and Disability (AHEAD) released the revised AHEAD Code of Ethics in September 2021. But how do AHEAD members take this foundational document and translate it into practice in disability resource offices and disability-related research? This webinar will offer concrete strategies for implementing the AHEAD Code of Ethics in office procedures, the interactive process, program delivery, research/assessment design, and more. Opportunities to offer ideas for potential uses of the Code will be offered to attendees.