Building Capacity, Building Community
Date: March 27, 2026
Location: Miami University, Oxford, OH
Register Now!
About the Conference
The Ohio Association on Higher Education and Disability (OH AHEAD) is excited to present our 2026 conference, Building Capacity, Building Community. This year’s conference invites us to celebrate collaboration and innovation in the field of disability services. Join us as we explore new strategies, build connections, and empower each other to best support students.
Cost:
- Professional registration: $150
- Current OH AHEAD Professional Member (with code): $100
- Student Registration: $50
Keynote Speaker: Margaret Price, Ph.D.
Gathering and Resistance in University Space: A Focus on Institutional Language
Dr. Margaret Price (she/they) is Professor of English (Writing, Rhetoric & Literacy) at The Ohio State University, where she also serves as Director of the Disability Studies Program. She is the author of the award-winning books Crip Spacetime (Duke University Press, 2024; open-source) and Mad at School (University of Michigan Press, 2011). In 2022, they traveled to Gothenburg, Sweden on a Fulbright Grant focusing on critical interpretations of universal design. Margaret is now at work on a project focused on cognitive disability, gathering, and collective access. Their personal website can be found at http://margaretprice.wordpress.com.
Social media
Bluesky (@margaretprice.bsky.social)
Instagram (@margaret4085)
Concurrent Sessions
Our conference features three dynamic session blocks, each offering a diverse range of topics:
Session Block 1:
- Navigating Challenging Conversations: Strategies for Working with Difficult Parents in Higher Education
Darcy McBride, Kent State University – Stark
This interactive session will equip disability service providers with practical tools to handle demanding or adversarial parents of college students with disabilities. Through real-world scenarios and guided discussion, participants will uncover the fears driving difficult behaviors and master de-escalation and boundary-setting techniques. Participants will leave the session empowered to protect student autonomy while also decreasing the potential for burnout– all while staying within FERPA and ADA guidelines.
- Unlocking Doors: Justice-Impacted Disabled Persons Accessing Education
Jenifer Montag, National Center for College Students with Disabilities (NCCSD)
Ben Wright, The Community
An increase in postsecondary education and training for those who are incarcerated means more college disability service professionals need information on how to provide accommodations for those who are justice-impacted…not only enrolled in the prison classes, but also those who are returning home and seeking to continue their education within our institutions. Barriers and limitations experienced inside the prisons means those who return to our campuses may have very limited knowledge and experience with many of the common accommodations. This session will provide a foundation of prison education and considerations college DS professionals should include as they work to support all our learners. Included are case studies for discussion and problem-solving to take back a “next step” for your campus and learners.
- Two vital Topics in our Profession: Support Strategies for Access and Legal Compliance / Best Practices
Tom L. Thompson, TMLS Consulting
This presentation will be broken into two 30 minute discussions, each of which will incorporate opportunities (of at least 10 minutes)to discuss participant questions, concerns and current practices. There are two main topics: student support and compliance and legal considerations; During each topic, there will be a brief consideration of how to incorporate outreach and to foster collaboration, with students, faculty and other campus colleagues.
Session Block 2:
- Creating a Sensory Room on a Budget
Heather Nash, Ohio Northern University
Stephanie Batchelder, Rhodes State College
This presentation examines practical considerations for developing sensory supports within higher education, with emphasis on efficient use of space, mobile sensory options, and budget-conscious decision making. It highlights available institutional and community resources that support implementation while addressing strategies for promoting awareness and utilization. The proposed approach demonstrates how flexible, low-cost sensory solutions can expand access, maximize existing infrastructure, and enhance student well-being across campus.
- Pouring with Purpose: Brewing self-care strategies for burnout prevention and recovery
Ashley Moermond, University of Cincinnati
Diana Riggs, University of Cincinnati
Burnout is a growing concern in helping professions, impacting both personal and professional well-being. While self-care is often presented as the solution, fitting it into real life can sometimes feel inconvenient, inauthentic or impossible.
This session challenges attendees to prioritize self-care by helping them recognize the ripple effects of burnout and consider practices that can ease the impacts of stress in their lives. Through mindfulness, reflection, and hands-on activities, attendees will create personalized self-care action plans and leave them equipped with practical tools, strategies, and resources to immediately assess burnout and strengthen their self-care practices.
- When Cognitive Science Meets Note-Taking Technology
Hope Sweeney, Miami University
Note-taking is not a neutral task for many students with cognitive and processing differences. This session examines digital note-taking apps — including AI-powered transcription and structured organization tools — as accessibility supports rather than productivity trends. Grounded in UDL and cognitive load research, participants will explore a practical decision framework for matching apps to student barriers while considering FERPA, recording permissions, and ethical implementation.
Session Block 3:
- Not a Solo Act: Coaching with Care and Creativity
Jacqlyn Schott, Miami University
As disability and access professionals, we are increasingly finding ourselves cast in coaching roles to support executive functioning, student success, and motivation within a systemic script prioritizing compliance and independence. This session rewrites the scene to reframe coaching as a capacity-building, care-centered practice grounded in disability justice and community responsibility. Attendees will explore creative, asset-framing coaching strategies—including multiple learning modalities and accessible metaphors—to support goal-setting, time management, and navigating academia. With radical care taking centerstage, “Not a Solo Act: Coaching with Care and Creativity” highlights how coaching fosters belonging and shared capacity for both students and professionals in sustainable ways.
- A Toolkit for Emergency Remote Learning
Becky Frost, University of Dayton
The session examines the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on disability accommodations during emergency remote learning. We review the impact of campus closures and emergency remote learning on disability service offices and students with accommodations. The presentation will review findings and implications based on research findings. Participants will collaborate with colleagues to identify robust strategies for implementation of accommodations in the event of a future emergency and remote learning scenario. Attendees will formulate a toolkit to use specific to their office and student population.
- The Student is the Expert: Using the “by request” method in AIM’s flex plan module
Emma Weihe, Kent State University
Disability Resource Professionals around the country have seen a growing number of requests for flexibility with course policies, such as additional absences and extended deadlines. As a result, our offices are increasingly tasked with facilitating agreements between students and faculty and accommodation management software programs, such as AIM, have created systems to better address these needs. While many institutions that use AIM adopt an instructor-led model in their Flex Plan module, we chose to emphasize the value that students’ lived experiences bring to the table and implement a student-led model. This presentation will cover an overview of factors related to the rise in flexibility requests, outline the history of this type of accommodation at Kent State University, describe our current Flex Plan process while examining the pros and cons of choosing the student-led model at a large, public institution.
Volunteer Opportunities
Be part of the movement! We are looking for enthusiastic volunteers to help make the OH AHEAD Conference a success. Whether you’d like to moderate a session or assist with day-of logistics, we welcome your support.
Volunteer Roles:
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- Session Moderators – Introduce speakers, facilitate Q&A, and ensure sessions run smoothly.
- Day-of Volunteers – Assist with registration, direct attendees, and provide general conference support.
- Vendor Outreach – Contact vendors requesting funds for sponsorship.
Sign Up to Volunteer
If you’re interested in volunteering, please complete the form below:
Thank you for joining us in Building Capacity and Building Community as we move toward a more accessible and inclusive future in higher education!
For questions, please contact the professional development chairs: Annastashia Blesi and Emma Weihe.