Welcome to the latest For What It’s Worth. In this post, I am writing about the My ROAD team’s trip to the 2025 TASH conference in Denver, CO in December.
TASH was founded in 1975, and its mission is to advance equity, opportunity and inclusion for people with disabilities, with a focus on those with the most significant support needs. The annual TASH conference is a gathering place where self-advocates, their families, supporters, and researchers come together with one mission: to make life better for people with disabilities. This year, TASH turned 50 years old, and people from all over the world came to celebrate.
Let me paint a picture of what TASH is like. The conference halls were busy. You could see many people in power wheelchairs. People gave talks on recent studies and government rules that affect people with disabilities, explaining how these policies can help improve access, support independence, and create more opportunities. You could also hear old friends saying hello and people meeting new friends. TASH is for people who may only see each other once a year but stay friends because they all care about helping their community. I felt that care, too, as I went through the halls. I really felt that TASH is a family.
The My Road Project team fit right into the family! During the three-day conference, we shared with other attendees what we found in our work about the importance of taking risks. We also filmed interviews with attendees who told us what they thought about risk and making their own choices, or self-determination. We can’t wait to share the voices we heard in upcoming My ROAD blogs/videos/issues.
Our team was happy to learn from so many strong, empowered voices, all gathered in one amazing space! To find out more about TASH, please visit tash.org. We hope to see you at the 2026 TASH Conference in Pittsburgh!
