Each year, the TASH Conference strengthens 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. This year’s conference theme, “Gateway to Equity,” explores inclusive communities, schools, and workplaces that support people with disabilities, including those with complex support needs, in living a fair, just, and balanced life. Return to TASH website.
Fostering social connectedness and meaningful participation is essential to the success of inclusive educational programming. Such belonging is also partially dependent on the treatment of students with severe disabilities by general education peers who are selective in determining classmates with whom to interact or form relationships. The current study quantitatively evaluates the relationship between paraprofessional support and the social acceptance of students with severe disabilities by their peers at the elementary level. The presentation is well aligned with the 2016 TASH theme Ÿ??Gateway to Equity.Ÿ? The focus of the presentation is to evaluate the quality of social inclusion of elementary school students with severe disabilities to help the field realize progress made and areas of need in establishing full inclusion of elementary school students with severe disabilities. The data focuses on the real life environments and experiences of elementary school students with severe disabilities. We believe the improvement of participation and learning through the development of peer relationships is meaningful and addresses an important social injustice many students with severe disabilities experience in school settings. TASH envisions, that Ÿ??all individuals with disabilities enjoy individualized supports and a quality of life similar to that available to all peopleŸ? and we feel that the study we are presenting is a building block toward achieving this vision.
