Alabama Disability Conference comes to Hoover for 1st time

The Arc of Alabama and Alabama Conference of Executives of The Arc are putting on the 2019 Alabama Disability Conference in Hoover.

The conference is set for Sept. 9-11 at the Hyatt Regency Birmingham – The Wynfrey Hotel. It’s designed to provide education and support for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities, their caregivers, professionals in the field and advocates for people with these disabilities.

There will be general sessions and breakout sessions so people can choose topics that interest them most, said Gena Richardson, executive director for The Arc of Alabama.

Breakout sessions will cover topics such as removing barriers to work, aging with developmental disabilities, Medicaid waiver services, starting a special needs ministry, school readiness and early intervention.

Key speakers this year include:

• Liz Weintraub, a disability policy advocate with the Association of University Centers on Disabilities
• Nicole Jorwic, director of rights policy with The Arc of the United States
• Tate Fall, a voting rights advocate with the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program
• John Mascia, president of the Alabama Institute for Deaf and Blind
• Diane Stewart, a specialist on the Enable Savings Plan
• Tametria Conner Dantzler, a former TV news anchor and investigative reporter who founded a parent advocacy organization and serves on the Alabama Interagency Autism Coordinating Council
• Shannon Ammons, CEO of the Alabama Association of Nonprofits

The conference includes an exhibition room where people can pay to set up booths for disability-specific devices, nonprofits and advocacy groups. There also will be a screening of the “Intelligent Lives” movie Monday and a dance party and awards luncheon Tuesday.

For more information and a link to register, go to aldisabilityconference.org