@ Virtual
The devices people with disabilities rely on have changed. Today's assistive technology connects to networks, generates data, and requires accounts, agreements, and digital decisions that most individuals were never taught to navigate on their own. When someone enters a workplace, a post-secondary program, or independent living without that preparation, the gap becomes a barrier; and the professionals supporting them are often navigating the same unfamiliar territory. This session builds AI awareness, security fundamentals, and practical technology knowledge for disability service professionals, alongside practical strategies for supporting the people they serve to manage their own technology, protect their digital identity, and self-advocate in environments that will not wait for them to catch up.
Learning Objectives: Participants will:
1. Understand the current assistive technology spectrum from low-tech to AI-powered tools and how internet-connected devices and cloud-based platforms impact individual privacy and autonomy.
2. Identify the ethical boundaries that apply when a disability service professional recommends, approves, or sets up technology as part of an individual's independence plan.
3. Build foundational AI awareness and security concepts relevant to the technology environments individuals with disabilities are entering.
4. Identify the digital self-advocacy skills gap that occurs when individuals move from settings where technology was managed for them into independent technology management.
5. Develop strategies for supporting the people they serve to communicate functional needs, navigate accommodation processes, and manage their own technology independently.
Speaker: Tiffany Wilson, Founder of WINS Change Access Network.
Certified Rehabilitation Counselor (CRC Ethics hours) and Continuing Education Units (CEUS) will be provided.
