Creating Pathways to Community Connections and Employment for Students with Complex Support Needs.
Transition doesn’t have to feel overwhelming or limiting. It can be a launchpad. This year’s virtual conference is all about what’s possible when we raise expectations, rethink systems, and focus on what students can do – not what they can’t.
Why This Theme?
Supporting students with complex support needs (i.e., intellectual and developmental disabilities, significant mental health needs, or complex medical conditions) can feel tough. Families and educators often find themselves navigating systems that weren’t built with big, meaningful adult lives in mind. But here’s the good news: transition is full of opportunity! When done well, it opens doors to belonging, contribution, purpose, and paid work. This conference is about helping these students move into adulthood with dignity, choice, and real options.
Why Attend?
The conference will provide unique opportunities to:
● Hear fresh, hopeful, and energizing perspectives on transition for students with complex support needs.
● Learn from national experts who don’t just study transition, they do the work.
● Walk away with practical tools and strategies you can use right away.
Who Should Attend?
This conference is designed for anyone who supports students with complex support needs as they prepare for life after school, including:
● Families and caregivers of middle and high school students
● Special and general educators
● Transition coordinators and related service providers
● School administrators and district leaders
● Adult service, employment, and community agency staff
Whether you’re just beginning to think about transition or looking to strengthen what you’re already doing, you’ll leave with ideas you can use right away!
What should I expect?
In addition to a morning keynote, you’ll experience four (4) interactive breakout sessions that blend short presentations, guided discussions, hands-on activities, and exploration of resources you’ll actually want to use. Everything is grounded in real-world practice and designed to help you connect ideas to actions.
Session 1: Building Skills through Universal Design for Transition Universal Design for Learning (UDL) helps students access instruction, but it can do so much more. This session shows how UDL principles can be used in transition to build real-life skills, experiences, and confidence, especially for students with complex support needs.
Session 2: Transition is a Lifelong Arc, not a Checklist.
Transition isn’t something that magically starts at age 14 and ends at graduation. This session explores how starting earlier, and thinking long-term, can lead to stronger outcomes, better partnerships, and smoother pathways across adulthood.
Session 3: Rethinking Transition Assessments. Traditional assessments often miss what really matters. This session looks at strength- based, real-world assessment approaches that uncover interests, talents, and possibilities – and lead to individualized transition plans that actually make sense.
Session 4: Opening Doors to Paid Work through Customized Employment.
Yes, students with complex support needs can work in the community. This session focuses on prioritizing work experiences during the transition years and using customized employment strategies to create meaningful, competitive
June 16, 2026
9 am – 4 pm ET
8 am – 3 pm CT
7 am – 2 pm MT
6 am – 1 pm PT
OR
JUNE 17, 2026
12 Pm – 7 pm ET
11 am – 6 pm CT
10 am – 5 pm MT
9 am – 4 pm PT
*Please note the same information will be shared on both dates. Please choose only one of the dates
