We were so excited to participate in TASH’s 50th anniversary conference last December in Denver. TASH brings together researchers, self-advocates, and practitioners committed to equity, inclusion, and human rights for people with disabilities and TASH 50 was a powerful reminder of why this work matters.
While we could share a million highlights and takeaways, we’ve narrowed it down to four:
- We connected with 15 self-advocates who shared how they speak up and make choices in their lives related to school, work, and their health. We’re deeply grateful for their openness and leadership and more details on their stories coming soon!
- Our principal investigators Jenn Bumble, Tonie Sadler, and Christopher Worth were invited to present at the TASH 50 research colloquium on our MY ROAD project. They shared why dignity of risk matters, what we’ve learned from our early research alongside inclusive college programs, and how these insights are shaping our next steps as we develop interventions that support reflection, strength-based practices, and values-driven goal setting in everyday life.
- We closed TASH 50 with a powerful session led by our very own Christopher Worth on the transformative power of our stories. Drawing on his lived experience as a person with a disability, Chris invited the audience to rethink research as advocacy, especially when it centers voices too often excluded from traditional academic spaces. He emphasized participatory, community-rooted research as a tool for visibility, agency, and systemic change, reminding us that TASH is not just a conference, but a platform for risk-taking, storytelling, collaboration, and collective transformation.
- Last, but certainly not least, we shared our first team dinner together. Over Indian food in a cold Colorado winter, we swapped stories, reflected on sessions we were excited to attend and enjoyed time together. It was a meaningful reminder that while work is important, so is the team behind it.